Promises
by FlyingMockingjay56
Summary: Peeta Mellark is a household name. Seen in TV screens across America, he was voted the sexiest actor on television. However, fame has its downsides. When Peeta meets Katniss, he's willing to give everything up for her - but Hollywood won't let him go without a price. In this business, promises are promises. Modern day, AU.
1. Chapter 1

_Katniss_

"Katniss, will you please get tables 6 and 10? Clove just broke up with her boyfriend and I think she's having an aneurism in the bathroom," Johanna rolled her eyes as she spoke. Of course Clove the busiest night of the week to throw a temper tantrum.

"On it right now," Katniss says as she walk out the kitchen doors, her long braid swinging behind her. Walking into the dining section of The Hob, Katniss observes an unusual amount of chatter and commotion in the room. While The Hob was a fine dining establishment, there wasn't anything special about it for people to be this loud. Katniss sighed and plastered a smile on her face as she walked towards a table full of guys.

"Welcome to The Hob, my name is Katniss and I will be your server tonight. Can I get you guys anything to drink?" Katniss felt everyones eyes on her - was this the table everyone was fussing over? She took a look at the men at the table. Sure they were attractive, but she couldn't figure out what was so special about them.

"I'd have a drink of you if I could," one of the guys with dark red hair drawled, a subtle southern accent coming out.

Katniss forced a laugh. "So funny I forgot to laugh. Now, for the rest of you adults, is there anything you'd like to drink?" The table of four erupted in laughter and screams, then all punched the bronze haired boy, who only shrugged then winked at Katniss. Katniss took the opportunity to study the men sitting down. There was the bronze haired boy, tanned and chiseled like a greek god, a dark skinned man who was built like a tree and clearly towered over everyone else, and a mysterious raven haired man with olive skin and grey eyes. Katniss stopped at the last guy. His bright blonde hair stood out against that of his friends, so did his bright smile and bright eyes. Katniss thought he reminded her of someone, but she shook the thought out of her head.

The dark skinned man spoke up. "Can we get a round of Stellas and some Svedka shots? Our boy Peeta here," he patted Peeta on the back, "just got a new job!" At the mention of job, the boys burst out in cheers again.

Katniss made direct eye contact with Peeta. She figured pretending like she cared about the patrons lives would land her a bigger tip. "So whats your new job? It must be pretty nice if all of your friends are so excited." The table went silent. Katniss mentally kicked herself. _Fuck! Did I go too far? I knew interacting with diners was a bad idea!_ "What did I say something wrong?" She joked, rubbing her sleeves and looking down at the floor. There goes that big tip.

The mysterious one spoke up for the first time, talking at his friends rather than her. "Guys I think she's serious?" He turned to Katniss. "Do you not recognize any of us?" She shook her head no. They all started laughing again, except for Peeta, who looked away bashfully.

The bronzed greek god looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You are looking at TV's four sexiest men, as voted by all the ladies." He smiled at a girl across the room, who nearly fainted.

Katniss resisted the urge to hit herself in the head. A bunch of conceited, handsome actors who will harass her and not tip her well. "Oh really? Thats cool, I don't watch very much tv. I'll be right back with your drinks." She spun on her heel quickly, nearly bumping into a server with a plate full of food. "Sorry," she mumbled as she moved quickly out of the room.

_Peeta_

"God damn did you see that waitress? I didn't know they made them so fine nowadays!" Finnick proclaimed to the whole table. When nobody responded to him, he nudged Peeta. "What did you think Peeta my boy? Wasn't she smokin'?" Peeta tried to look away.

"Yeah she was kinda cute I guess," he said as he looked off into the other corner of the restaurant. Truth is he thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and he has seen a lot of women. Mostly women who his publicist arraigned to hang off his arm for a week, but a lot of pretty women nonetheless.

Finnick looked at Peeta, who was now blushing and looking at the floor. He tapped his fingers on the table and called for the attention of Gale and Thresh. "I would like to draw attention to our dear friend Peeta Mellark, the man who has shagged hundreds of bitches, been plastered over tv screens across America, and is even rumored to have gotten with Glimmer Anderson, is BLUSHING over a waitress in a shitty restaurant." The three boys laughed at Peeta's expense.

Peeta punched Finnick in the arm. "What? Ok, I'll admit she got me a little flustered. I have a weakness for pretty girls."

Thresh smirked, tapping his fingers on the table. "Go for it. Shes a hot piece of tail, and it doesn't look like shes a fame whore trying to get famous. She honestly didn't know who any of us were."

Gale putted in, "Yeah, about that. How does someone not know who we are? I mean really, Finnicks ass is the desktop background of half the girls in America."

Finnick wiggled his ass in his seat. "Not even just America, I happen to have a very large Brazilian fanbase." They all laughed, while Peeta craned his neck to see if Katniss was coming back down with their drinks.

_Katniss_

As soon as she entered the kitchen, Johanna pounced on Katniss. "Oh my fucking god. You are the luckiest person in the world, I cant believe you got the table with all the _Glenwood's Hunters Boys_!" Katniss looked confused.

"Who?" Johanna's jaw dropped. "Oh you mean those famous guys? Yeah I'm serving them. I just hope they tip me well, if they're as famous as you say they are." Katniss shrugged, then turned to grab the beer glasses.

Johanna looked at her. "I hope you're kidding. All four of them were there, right? Theres Gale, the mysterious one who I would let fuck me senseless any day, Thresh, the hot African beast who is rumoured to have a big you know what, Finnick, the rock hard chiseled god, and Peeta, the nice boy with the striking eyes." Katniss stopped and smiled when she heard Peetas name. For a famous guy, he did live up to his reputation. Johanna started rambling again. "Because you clearly don't have enough time to watch TV, I'll fill you in. Glenwood's Hunters are about these group of these twenty-something year old guys who have been trained to hunt and kill aliens. It sounds stupid but trust me - watching 40 minutes of shirtless hot men is something I look forward to, if you know what I mean." She wiggled her eyebrows up and down, while preparing the food for another table.

Katniss rolled her eyes at Johanna's classic antics. "I'm going to go deliver their drinks. I'll tell you if Gale's looking for a hot young waitress to fuck." With a tray of drinks and a sly smile, Katniss strode out of the kitchen. Smiling as she set down their drinks, Katniss felt those piercing blue eyes on her. "So before I allow you guys to get piss drunk, may I ask who is the designated driver?" Katniss always asked that before serving drinks to whole tables. She knew the dangers of drunk driving secondhand.

The dark handsome one - Thresh - Katniss remembered, let out a laugh. "I am. Not planning on drinking a lot but it practically takes 1/2 a bottle of Bacardi for me to get buzzed. Not killing anyone tonight!" The four boys laughed, with Katniss feeling stiff. When people joked about it, it strung a nerve in her. If anyone noticed her discomfort, nobody commented on it. "Alright, what will you have to eat? Or do actors not eat, I can't really keep up with the new dieting trends."

The table let out a collective chuckle. "What do you suggest?" Gale asked, looking on the menu.

Katniss replied automatically. "Everythings really good here at The Hob, but my personal favorite is the lamb stew." The boys nodded and scratched their neck-beards.

"Well, because you suggested it I guess I'll have to get the lamb stew," Peeta announced confidently, looking straight at Katniss, then at his friends. They all read out their orders, but Katniss's eyes were still on Peeta.

Snapping back into place, she closed her notepad. "Alright, I'll have your orders out in a split." After she turned her back, she heard Finnick's voice behind her.

"And another round please!"

Johanna nudged a drowsy Katniss, who was falling asleep in a chair. She looked at the time. "Alright Katniss, time to get your drunk boyfriends out of here. It's nearly 1 am, and I just want to go the fuck home." Katniss mumbled a few choice words at Johanna, then pushed her way out of the kitchen and made her way to the boy's table. Thresh was standing up, trying to get them to leave, but Finnick and Peeta were not allowing it. Katniss wrinkled her nose, the smell of booze wafted from them. Peeta's eyes got wide when he spotted Katniss.

"Kat-nisssss!" He drew out the "s" in her name. He tried to walk towards her, but he ended up almost tripping over Finnick, who was searching the floor for god knows what. She smiled weakly, accepting his sudden affection but turning his attention towards the check. "OHHHH! Is THAT what you want me to do? I sweearrrrr, I'll do anythingggg you tell me to do!" Katniss smiled as he signed the check and drunkenly fumbled with his credit cards. Thresh looked thankfully at Katniss, while he ushered the three drunk boys out of The Hob and into the chilly New York City streets.

"Goodbye sweetheart!" A voice yelled, but she couldn't tell if it was Finnick or Peeta.

Smiling to herself, Katniss picked up the check, anticipating a below average tip. Rich people were always the worst. Instead, she opened it to a 60 dollar tip and Peeta Mellark's phone number on the bottom, with the words "Dinner Sunday?"

ta da! Its my first hunger games fic. I figured because I couldn't find one exactly I wanted to read, why not write my own? Is it too short? too bad? feedback in reviews is much appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

_Peeta_

Peeta rolled over in bed, immediately jolting awake when he came in contact with Finnick's smelly feet. "Oh my fucking god Finnick do you wash your feet?" He yelled, throwing Finnick's feet away from him and effectively pushing him off the bed. Peeta heard a moan from the floor. "And god, why are you in my bed? There are like what, five couches in my apartment?" He rubbed his temples, suddenly remembering all the drinking last night.

Finnick laughed from the floor. "Your bed is much much more comfortable than the couch, how was I supposed to resist? And sorry, I know you were hoping it would be a sexy brunette waitress instead, drunk Peeta really put the moves on her."

He chucked the pillow at Finnick, his cheeks turning pink. He glanced at the clock. "Shit. Finnick you gotta get up. It's 11 and I'm supposed to have a meeting with Effie and Haymitch in like 15 minutes." Finnick got up and stretched his arms, releasing a big yawn.

"Yikes. I'm going to get out of here before I run into -" his words were cut off by the ring of the doorbell. Pulling on his shirt and pants while Peeta got up, Finnick waltzed out the door, stopping to lay a big wet kiss on Effie's cheek.

Effie let out a screech, pushing Finnick off of her and dragging Haymitch inside. Rubbing spit off her face with her sleeve, Effie dug around her huge bright orange back for some papers. At 5'2, Effie was definitely short. But with her 4 inch heels, big hair and big personality, she certainly made up for it. Today, her color scheme was orange and pastel yellow, two bright colors that did not match the unusual scowl on her face. Glancing at Haymitch, who looked hungover and unshaven as usual, Peeta realized that something was definitely up. Usually Haymitch is the first to tell Effie to calm down, but he made no move to stop her from muttering to herself.

She finally found a newspapers, and threw it down on Peeta's coffee table. Peeta picked it up, grimacing at the cover. It was him and Finnick, drunkenly stumbling out of The Hob last night. The caption was "Are these Glenwood Hunters out of Control?" Underneath it, was a sworn statement of someone who was apparently "close" to Peeta and Finnick, stating that he had confided to this source that he had a drinking problem. Peeta let out a low whistle then rubbed his forehead before he moved to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.

Effie tapped her shoes and pursed her lips. "Do you not have anything to say about this Peeta?"

Peeta avoided eye contact and continued to search his cabinets for a mug. "I mean its the National Inquirer, everyone knows everything they print is complete bull. And who cares? We have three months before we have to go back to LA."

Haymitch took a seat at the kitchen bar, and looked Peeta in the eye. "Change of plans. You know the new gig we told you about? They've decided to drop you. Apparently, parents don't like their kids watching actors with rumored alcohol addictions." Peeta stopped in his tracks. He knew Haymitch was alluding to himself, and his career-long struggle with substances that lead him to an early retirement and new job as a manager. But it was also a warning - basically saying _If you don't want to end up like me, you better change_.

"Fuck!" Peeta yelled, throwing his coffee mug on the floor. Effie gasped at his sudden burst of anger. His pristine, glass and stainless steel kitchen was now coated in a layer of coffee.

Effie looked at him sadly. "I'll go call someone to help you clean this up." She excused herself from the room.

Haymitch and Peeta looked at each other in silence. Haymitch pulled him close. "Now listen kid, I don't care if you ruin your life. But you're still managed by Capitol Studios, and they care. Not about you, but about money. This was a potential million dollar movie, which is huge for someone just moving to the silver screen. You better clean your act up fast or Snow's gonna get pissed. Don't want to end up like me!" Haymitch pushed Peeta away with a laugh, and pulled a flask out from his pocket.

Effie returned to the room, writing a note down in her planner. "Alright. Someone will be here to clean that up in half an hour. Now, back to the more pressing issues - like your career. We must start building up your image. Haymitch is going to try and see if he knows any old director buddies who are looking for a young, male, lead. I've also scheduled an appearance for you on the Caesar Flickerman Show. You'll play some games, make some jokes. Basically, you have to make America fall in love with you all over again, the same way they did on Glenwood's Hunters. Doesn't that sound fun?" She clapped and smiled, making him know that he didn't have any say in it.

Peeta ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know, I guess. So I assume we're staying in New York indefinitely? What am I supposed to do if I'm not allowed to go out drinking and partying?"

Haymitch laughed again. "You're going to get a girlfriend."

* * *

_Katniss_

Katniss sat on the couch of our apartment, while braiding Prim's hair. The two girls lived alone on the 3rd floor in a lower manhattan 5 story walk-up since Katniss decided to move back to the city after going to college in Boston, and Prim got accepted into Columbia's medical program. The apartment was not particularly nice - two small cramped bedrooms, an outdated kitchen and bathroom, and a living room filled with mismatched hand me down furniture. But it was a small cozy home - Prim made sure of it. She enjoyed hanging up weird paintings and sculptures she found, along with a row of potted plants on the windowsill.

Absentmindedly flipping through TV channels, Prim chattered to Katniss. "So we were watching open heart surgery, you know, for a learning experience. Then this girl, her name is Cashmere - I mean seriously, who names their child Cashmere - starts crying and telling me how its so gross. I was just like, 'You are in the wrong profession, please leave,' and she looked at me like I had 10 heads..." She stopped on FX, where the opening credits and theme song to Glenwood's Hunters started to play. "Oh my god, I love this show."

Katniss looked up. "Oh!" She cried, as a shirtless Peeta came on the screen. "Those guys came into The Hob last night." Prim dropped the remote, and turned to let out a screech. "Jesus Prim, someone's going to think you're being murdered."

Prim looked at her older sister slack jawed. "Are you fucking kidding me? You saw Finnick Odair, Peeta Mellark, Thresh Evans, and Gale Hawthrone in person? Are they really as hot as they are on TV? And please tell me you got an autograph."

Katniss suddenly remembered Peeta's phone number sitting in her wallet. While she had thought of it on her drive home, she had gone straight to sleep the second she got home, completely forgetting that a celebrity had given her his number. "Not quite, but I did get something." Getting up to get the small slip of paper, Katniss handed it to Prim.

"No way," whispered Prim. Looking back at Katniss, who just shrugged, she set the paper down. "Ok you're calling him. Todays Saturday, tomorrow's Sunday. You _have_ to look perfect if you're going out with _Peeta Mellark_."

Katniss rolled her eyes as she picked up the piece of paper, and slipped it into her pocket. "Of course I'm not going to call him. He was drunk when he wrote it, he probably didn't even mean to leave me his number." Prim gasped. She pounced on Katniss, trying to wrestle the paper from her pocket. "C'mon Prim get off!" Katniss tried to push the small blonde off of her, but with no avail.

Prim and Katniss continued to wrestle on the couch. "I'll get off if you say you'll call him!" Prim declared, sitting on Katniss's back.

"Fine! I'll call him. Now get off of me!" Prim happily jumped off of Katniss, who fished the slip of paper and her cell phone from her pocket. She dialed the number, and listened to it ring. Prim raised her eyebrows, and Katniss almost hung up and said _I told you so!_ When a deep voice picked up on the other line.

"Hello?"

Katniss nearly dropped the phone in shock. She hadn't expected Peeta to actually give her his number. "Oh! Um.. Hi, it's Katniss. You probably don't remember me, I am that waitress from The Hob last night. You gave me your phone number, and I told my nosy sister that you probably didn't mean to, and I just wanted to set the record straight." Katniss heard him let out a breath on the other line.

"Oh yeah Katniss! I may have been hella smashed but I can't forget a pretty face. I'm actually really glad you called, I'd really like to have dinner with you. How does tomorrow at 7 sound?"

Katniss smiled to herself, receiving a tongue out from Prim. "7 sounds great. Where would you like to eat?"

She heard Peetas hesitance over the phone. "I know I sound like a creepy killer but how does my house sound? I'm on some kind of house arrest, and I make a mean chicken parmesan."

Katniss laughed. "If you promise not to kill me, I'm in. See you then." She heard him respond with a chipper 'See you!' and hang up the phone. She turned to Prim, who was already squealing like a little girl.

Prim grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her into the bedroom. "I have to help you pick out an outfit!"

* * *

_Peeta_

Peeta stepped out of his apartment building's lobby, smiling wide after his conversation with Katniss. He was immediately blinded by flashing light bulbs of photographers, no doubt hired by Effie to follow him around. They all screamed questions in his face. "Peeta why are you so happy?"

"Is it true that you were dropped from the new Archie flick?"

"Is president of your management, Cornelius Snow, happy with the losses?"

Peeta smiled as he tried to make his way towards the towncar that was waiting for him at the curb. "Unfortunately, my team and the members of the Archie production had different interests, and it did not work out. I hear they're interested in casting Josh Hutcherson for the lead, and I have faith he could play the role better than me. I am always grateful for the support I have received from Snow, he is a wonderful man. No more questions, thank you." The driver opened the door, and Peeta ducked into the car.

The driver settled into the front seat, and looked back at him. "Where to Mr. Mellark?"

Peeta looked up from the floor. "Nobu Fifty-Seven please?" As the car started moving, Peeta pulled out his phone and decided to check his messages. Five from Effie, three were from this morning announcing her early arrival and two reminding him his lunch meeting this after noon; Fifteen from the group message of him, Thresh, Gale and Finnick, most of the messages expressing their condolences on the job lost and inviting him out for drinks later; and three messages from Haymitch telling him to stop ignoring Effie.

Ignoring the messages from Effie and Haymitch, Peeta typed out a quick response to his friends telling them that he wouldn't be able to come out tonight. _Or any night_, he thought to himself. The driver soon pulled up to the sushi restaurant, and Peeta muttered out a thanks before climbing out. There weren't as many paparazzi outside here, but some people spotted him and started pointing. Sending them warm smiles, he went inside.

The hostess asked him if he needed a table, and he said there should be an appointment under Trinkett. Following the woman, he arrived at a secluded corner booth. Effie stood up to greet him. "Peeta, this is Alma Coin, and Madge Undersee. Your new girlfriend."

* * *

wooo! second chapter! feedback is much appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

_Peeta_

Peeta sent a forced smile in the direction of Alma and Madge, then leaned in to whisper in Effie's ear. "Can we talk over there? _Please?_"

Either not realizing or not caring about what Peeta was trying to tell her, Effie rolled her eyes. "No, Peeta. That would be so rude to Miss Undersee and Ms. Coin. And anyway, we have important things to discuss. I'm sure whatever you need to tell me can wait." The edge in her voice showed that Peeta did not have a choice. He sat down and observed Madge.

Madge Undersee is the young daughter of a rich politician. With a family line full of mayors, governors, senators and even one speaker of the house, she had been in the spotlight from a very young age. Madge grew up attending New York City's best private schools, then later being accepted into Yale. She was now studying at Columbia for law, trying to follow in her family's footsteps. When she wasn't in school, Madge was the head of various charities that donate money and clothes to the underprivileged youth. She was often photographed in faded jeans and a white t-shirt helping out at soup kitchens. Basically, Madge Undersee was an angel.

Not to say she didn't look like one too. Her natural honey blonde hair cascaded in waves down her back, blue eyes that were so pale they were almost gray, and her fair skin always tan from frequent getaways to the caribbean. Delicate features like a small button nose and soft pink lips were what made her look so sweet. However, her slim figure with curves in all the right places proved long hours in the gym were well spent. While looking her over, Peeta realized that while he found her very attractive, he preferred Katniss's raw look.

They all exchanged pleasantries, Peeta had met Madge at a party thrown by Capital studios a few months ago but they did not consider each other friends. He tried to make small talk. "So, hows the charity work going? I saw your name in the Times a few weeks back, acknowledging you for opening over 100 gyms for at risk youth throughout the city. I mean thats amazing, congratulations."

She smiled and nodded and said, "Thank you! It was a huge project for me, but it also just made me realize how much I like helping people."

"It looks like hard work, but it seems really rewarding. Not everyone has a heart as big as you," _Or a wallet as big_ he thought to himself.

Her laugh was light and airy. "You just have to start small, it's easier than you think I promise. How about you come volunteer at a kids center with me? Rumors say you were a big college football player." Peeta took the invitation as a sign that Madge was more onboard with the whole fake girlfriend-boyfriend idea than he was.

"That sounds really cool. I'll give you a call." He sent her a charming smile.

Finally looking up from the menu, Effie chirped, "Today we have some big big big things to discuss!" Ms. Coin nodded in agreement.

Alma Coin was a stylish, but cold and calculating woman. She was known as one of the post fierce publicists, ruining the lives of many people who had dared to cross her clients. Her beady brown eyes looked straight at Peeta. "We have come to an agreement that it would be beneficial to both yours and Miss Undersee's reputation for you two to start a relationship. At least for the public to believe that you are in a relationship."

Peeta stared straight back at her. "So I get no choice? At all? Haymitch told me that I had to find a girlfriend, I didn't know we were still in middle school and someone had to pick her out for me."

Alma Coin rolled her eyes and said, "Your reputation is the one that needs saving. We are prepared to walk out of here with no deal. However, I am prepared to tell all news outlets that a soon to be nobody acted so rudely to America's sweetheart, and that his drinking problem is taking over his life. Your choice." It was like they were playing a game of chess, and they were very much in a stalemate. Everyone at the table was shocked silent by her harsh words, Madge even looked on the verge of crying.

Peeta ran his hand through his loose curls, and sighed. "You know what? Ok. I'll do it. I'll do whatever you want."

Effie cut through the tension with her high pitched voice. "Perfect! The two of you are going to be doing a few casual things together, like meeting for coffee or going to the gym, and you'll slowly progress to public appearances. I trust that because you are both adults you can plan these dates yourself. And here look, theres our food."

Peeta attempted to make eye contact with Madge, but she looked away. She was clearly hurt by his reluctance to agree to the situation. The four all ate, with Effie doing most of the talking inbetween.

When the bill was all settled, Coin shook hands with Peeta. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you. We'll be in contact." He nodded. He didn't like her, and she didn't like him. He realized Madge had already left.

"Excuse me, I'm going to go find Madge," Peeta smiled and started to zig-zag through the restaraunt to catch up with the leggy blonde. "Madge!" He called, but she either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. He caught up with her and grabbed her arm, and forced her to look at him. Tears stained her cheeks, and Peeta felt guilty that he had hurt her feelings. "Look Madge I'm sorry."

She raised her eyebrow and wiped her tears. "Sorry it's so hard to pretend to like me. I understand, I don't particularly like myself either." Now he _really_ felt bad.

He rubbed the back of his neck the way he always did when he was stressed. "No, I think you're really cool and very attractive. I just hate it -" Madge nodded.

"I understand. It's been like this my whole life. I don't think I've ever dated anyone who my parents or my publicists didn't hand pick for me."

"I just feel like I'm a piece in their games. I'm nothing more than a pawn in the scheme of things."

Madge smiled and whispered, "Then you better sharpen your chess skills." She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "C'mon," she beckoned to the exit. The two blondes left together, confidently smiling for the awaiting cameras.

* * *

_Katniss_

Katniss stood infront of her mirror, trying on what felt like the millionth outfit while Prim dug through Katniss's closet. "Jesus Katniss when was the last time you went shopping?"

Katniss scowled and replied, "College?" Prim scoffed, then disappeared back inside the closet. It was 5 p.m Sunday night, and she was trying to figure out what to wear to her dinner date with Peeta. She didn't want to be over-dressed, but she also didn't know what was appropriate. Her phone buzzed with a text from Peeta. It read _Hey, I hope we're still on for tonight, my address is 131 Greene Street between Prince and West Houston_. Katniss smiled and tapped out a response _Yep! Really x-cited, see you soon_. Throwing her phone on bed, she let out a small scream before she slopped on the bead and said, "I have to find something to wear!"

An hour later, Katniss found herself buzzing Peeta's door while fidgeting in the clothes Prim forced her in. "Katniss, come right up." He buzzed the outside door open, and Katniss braced herself as she waited for the elevator.

* * *

_Peeta_

Peeta made sure the chicken was in the oven and the sauce was boiling on the pan before making his way to the door. He opened it, and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Katniss was dressed in a tight long sleeve nude crop top over a flowing white lace skirt, completing the outfit with white wedges and a small purse. Peeta willed himself not to look at the way the crop top hugged her every curve, and how the small amount of cleavage bounced when she walked. He looked anyway. "Hey," she said shyly.

Peeta brought his eyes back to her face. "Hey," he replied. The two just stood there for a few moments, admiring each others features. Peeta was the first to break the trance. "Oh let me get your coat." He took the jacket from her shoulders and draped it over a chair in the foyer.

Katniss looked around and let out a whistle. "Nice place you got here. I hope I'm not too overdressed," she moved her arms to cover the small sliver of skin peaking out between her shirt and skirt. Peeta grabbed her hand away.

"No, you look beautiful." She raised an eyebrow at his hand, but didn't mention anything.

"It smells really nice in here, didn't know you could do anything except for smile and look good shirtless." Her smile and giggle let him know that she was just poking fun of him.

Peeta motioned for her to follow him back into the kitchen, her soft bare feet padding across the floor silently. He turned to smile at her while he was stirring the sauce. "Actually, I worked in my family's bakery for my whole life so I know how to make a variety of baked favorites. However, my hard earned cooking skills were learnt from watching food network during breaks when we shoot in California."

Katniss sat down at the kitchen bar. "So you live in California? What are you doing in New York?"

"Well, Glenwood's Hunters takes a break from shooting in March to May, so me and the boys usually come to New York for the months in-between to hangout. I was born and raised in San Diego but I currently live in Los Angeles." Peeta put on oven mitts before grabbing the pan of chicken from the oven.

"Of course you live in LA, thats where all the _famous_ people live." Peeta winked at Katniss.

"Yeah coming to New York is also more of an excuse to not stay with my family." Peeta mentally beat himself up for mentioning his family problems within the first 20 minutes of conversation. As he poured the cheese and sauce over the chicken, he tried to think of ways to redirect the conversation. "So tell me about yourself? I know that you're a waitress at The Hob and that you're dumb enough to go to a man's house who you don't even know with the promise of food, but what else is there to you?"

Sticking her tongue out at him, Katniss hummed. "I'm 25. I grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn with my mom, dad, and younger sister Prim. I went to UMass Boston, and I got an undergrad degree majoring in Landscape Architecture. Came back to New York after my dad died, and I bought an apartment in lower manhattan that I now share with Prim." Katniss waited for the look of sympathy that everyone usually gives her after she mentions her dad's death, but it didn't come, and for that Katniss was glad.

Peeta moved the food onto plates, and reached up to get two wine glasses. "I'm so sorry, that's really rough. Why are you waiting tables at a sub-par restaurant and not redesigning central park?"

"Hey, hey, hey. The Hob is a fine dining establishment. Greasy Sae is a great chef -" Peetas look made Katniss blush.

"I wouldn't exactly trust the title 'Greasy Sae.' Remind me never to eat there again!" Peeta moved to fill the two glasses with wine.

"Oh, I don't drink," Katniss said, stopping Peeta in his tracks.

Now it was Peeta's turn to blush. "My bad, sorry for assuming. Is there anything you'd like to drink?" He didn't press into _why_ Katniss didn't drink, because he could tell it wasn't exactly first date territory.

"Seltzer is good, thank," She looked up with a smile, trying to break the awkward tension. Filling his glass with a healthy serving of Chardonnay and hers with seltzer he grabbed the plates and silverware, then motioned for Katniss to grab the glasses and follow him to the dining room.

Sitting across from each other, Peeta waited until Katniss took a bite of her food before digging into his. "And the verdict is?" He waited, hoping it would be good.

Katniss's jaw dropped. "I have never eaten something so good." She cut up another piece and shoved it into her mouth. "Wow this is smothered in cheese I think I'm in heaven. Serious compliments to the chef." Peeta smiles and starts to eat. Stopping to take a sip of her drink, Katniss looks up at Peeta. "Now, tell me about yourself?"

Peeta wiped his mouth before speaking. "I lived my whole life in a secluded family-oriented neighborhood in San Diego. My dad and mom ran a bakery. I have two older brothers - Wheaton and Rye. My mom's a bitch, so I went to UCLA to get away from her. One day I was approached on the street by my current manager - Haymitch Abernathy - who was looking for extras for a TV show shooting a few blocks away. I'd done a little bit of acting in high school so I figured, why not? I guess he saw something in me because the next thing I knew, I landed a role on Glenwood's Hunters."

"Solid. What was that job that you and your friends were celebrating Friday? They seemed really proud of you."

Peeta sucked in a breath. "I actually landed a role in the movie adaptation of the Archie comics, but due to a rumored alcohol addiction, the studio dropped me." Katniss raised an eyebrow. He felt even more awkward announcing that after Katniss revealed she didn't drink alcohol.

"No judgements here, but do you have an alcohol addiction?"

Peeta laughed nervously. "No, of course not. It's all bullshit all these other publicists make up. I'm 24, and I get punished for going out for drinks. I get treated like I'm 12."

"We'll I'm glad you go out for drinks because then you wouldn't have had run into me." They both smiled. The two ate their dinner in a comfortable silence, interrupted by flowing conversation in between chewing.

"Ok, really? Now you're telling me that if you could marry any male celebrity in the world, it would be Tom Cruise? Now I'm not even offended you didn't say me but Tom Cruise, really? He's like a crusty old midget." Peeta looked at Katniss, who just laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

"What can I say? I have a soft spot for the mission impossible movies, and scientology." She threw her head back laughing at her own joke.

Peeta took a look at their finished plates, and got up.

"Here, lemme help you with your plate and I'll give you a tour."

* * *

_Katniss_

"When you said your terrace had a nice view, you were not kidding," Katniss looked over the ledge and out over the downtown New York skyline. The lights of the tall buildings of the Financial District light up the night sky.

Peeta looked along with Katniss. "Yeah, it's really nice out here. I like sitting out here when I feel my ego getting too big, you know? It makes you realize that you're just one of eight million people in this small city." The stood in silence, looking over the city together until Katniss spoke up.

"You know I'm not here because you're a celebrity, right?"

"Yeah, I got that memo when you didn't immediately ask me what clubs I could get you into." A small smile formed on Katniss' face. They stood in another comfortable silence before he saw Katniss shiver. "It's a little chilly out here. Let's go back inside."

She nodded, and rubbed her arms as they walked back inside the warm apartment and Peeta closed the terrace door behind him. He had already shown her his man cave, his bedroom, and the living room. She sat down on chair, with Peeta on the couch across from her. "Well, at least I know that it pays well to be able to look good shirtless."

He nodded. "Yeah, tell me about it. I got lucky - most actors either start from childhood, have a famous parents, or get stuck doing local plays and never have enough to pay rent. Had I not been cast in Glenwood's, I probably would have forgotten all about acting and played college football and ended up as a high school gym teacher."

"Oh so now you reveal that you were a football player. How stereotypical. Let me guess, you were the star quarterback?" Katniss' words dripped playful sarcasm.

Peeta raised his eyebrows and said, "Actually, I played wide receiver. Nice try though."

Laughing again for what felt like the millionth time that evening, Katniss made eye contact with Peeta. By this time at night, she had already figured out why Peeta was considered one of the most attractive men on television. He had a great personality, a very nice body, and eyes and a smile that could make your heart melt. She sighed looking at the clock across the room, it was already nearing 11:30. "I feel like I'm 15, having to leave at 11:30 but I should probably get going. I don't want to walk up 1st avenue this late."

"Let me call you a cab, I don't want you walking up 1st avenue alone either," Peeta said while already reaching for his phone.

Katniss put her hand out to stop him. "No, no it's fine, you don't have to call me a cab. It's like a twenty minute walk from here and the crazies don't even come out until 12 anyway." They both knew she was lying, but the truth was that Katniss hated to splurge on cabs.

He put down the phone reluctantly, as Katniss stood up to get her purse and her coat. "I'd offer to drive you, but there's paparazzi that practically live outside my doorstep so I don't think that's an option. Are you sure you're safe?" He followed her to the door.

She nodded as she checked her bag for her keys, wallet and cell phone. Peeta tipped her chin to look back up at him. "I really had a great time with you Katniss," her grey eyes made contact with his blue ones, then slowly moved down to his lips.

"Me too. I'm really glad I decided to call you."

He leaned in slowly, his voice softening. "Then I hope you don't mind this." Peeta's lips made contact with hers, and she had to refrain from letting out a sigh. She had been waiting all night from this moment. His lips were soft, and she could taste the buttery oak flavor of the wine he drank. He pulled away after what felt like a nano second. Katniss looked at him, already wanting more. He smiled back at her, her grey eyes shining. "When can I see you again?"

Katniss looked to the left, trying really hard to remember something that didn't relate to Peeta's lips. "Um, I'm off on Tuesdays, Sundays, and Thursday afternoons."

Peeta rubbed the back of his neck. "I might be free on Tuesday, but my schedule really depends on what my publicist throws at me each morning. I'll definitely text you." He smiled nervously, as Katniss opened the door.

"Alright. Goodnight Peeta," she said as she turned to look at him one last time before he closed the door.

Standing in his hallway while waiting for the elevator, Katniss smiled to herself. She had expected Peeta to be arrogant and a little bit cocky, but he turned out to be a genuinely interesting person. Peeta was something different - a fresh breath of air.

* * *

hi guys, this is an edited version of chapter 3. some of you guys said, and I agreed with that I didn't really like the way the smut panned out so quickly. i'm editing this and chapter 4 to fix a couple of things that i decided to change so it all makes sense. there will be smut in this story, just maybe a little later. hope you like the revised version!


	4. Chapter 4

_Katniss_

Katniss fumbled with her house keys a few times before opening the door to her apartment. Johanna and Prim were on the couch, looking expectantly at her. Katniss scowled. "Well I don't know what type of story you guys were expecting but I have nothing to tell."

Johanna scoffed. "You just went out on a date with one of the sexiest men on television. Of course you have a story!" She dragged Katniss to the floor in front of Prim.

Remembering her night, Katniss blushed. "Well I went over and he cooked me food - It was the best thing I've ever tasted in my life. Then he gave me a tour of his apartment and we just talked." Katniss was a very private person, she didn't like letting people know what goes on behind closed doors.

Prim didn't buy it, saying,"You mean nothing happened? Not even a kiss goodbye?" Johanna wagged her eyebrows.

Katniss got up and clapped her hands. "I'm going to go take a shower. Have fun watching that stupid show of yours," she said pointing to the paused episode of Glenwood's Hunters.

As she stripped off her clothes and climbed into the scalding hot shower, Katniss reflected on Peeta. She hadn't been on a date in a while, and the guys she had gone out with were complete jerks. Dating was never her priority - ever since her father died, Katniss took Prim on as her responsibility. She helped the young blonde with her college applications, making sure she didn't have to make any sacrifices on her education. Now at 22, she was doing a medical work-study program at Columbia University, one of the top schools in the country.

Undoing her braid and massaging shampoo into her scalp, Katniss evaluated her own life. She was working a dead-end job at a shitty restaurant with low pay. She didn't own a car (it wasn't really necessary in the city - at least that's what she told herself), and she had to scrape together rent every single month. Katniss questioned what Peeta said to her but she skillfully avoided. _Why am I not working in landscape and architecture?_ The truth was she didn't think she was mentally stable enough to hold down a serious job and deal with the stress. _But your medications are working just fine, think about yourself for once_.

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, Katniss shut off the faucet and stepped out of the bathroom and into her room. Changing into her favorite Yankees t-shirt and Victoria's Secret sleep shorts, Katniss grabbed her phone and laptop before settling down into her bed. She had one text from Peeta, which she opened immediately. _P. Mellark: Thanks for coming over tonight. Really hope you got home alive!_

Katniss giggled to herself before replying. _Me: Yep! Home safe, and I only had to knife 10 crazy people_ Katniss looked at the message before she clicked send. Within a few seconds, she had a response

_Mellark_:_ I think you're the real Glenwood Hunter here. Have a good night, looking forward to seeing you again :)_

Her usual scowl replaced by a smile, Katniss opened her laptop. While she and Peeta had gotten to know each other over dinner, there was one thing she was still curious about. Opening Netflix, she cautiously typed in _Glenwood's Hunters_. Seasons 1-4 were streaming. Perfect.

* * *

_Peeta_

Peeta spent his Tuesday morning at the gym with Madge, making the most of his cardio day. Alma and Effie were not kidding when they staged this relationship. As instructed, they purposely picked the treadmills that faced the sidewalk, trying their hardest to be casual while still being noticed by paparazzi and onlookers. Peeta and Madge ran together on adjacent treadmills, each daring the other to keep up and go faster. Peeta admired her stamina while Madge admired his speed.

"C'mon Mellark, only 15 more minutes left. If you're going to be my fake boyfriend you're going to have to look the part." Madge was not only pretty, she was also funny.

Slightly out of breath, Peeta looked at her machine. "I'm pushing 11 m.p.h while you're only doing 8. I actually think you should be the one stepping up your game." Madge and Peeta both finish the last 15 minutes strong, agreeing that after a water break they would be done. While she took a long sip from her water-bottle, Peeta wiped his forehead with a towel. "So what is your agenda for the rest of the day?"

"I have a late brunch with my sister and her senator-hopeful fiance, then believe it or not I have some afternoon classes at Columbia that I actually have to go to. After that I have a dinner meeting with the CEO of Carolina Herrera regarding a charity fashion show."

Peeta whistled. "Wow! Now I feel super unproductive. How do you even have time for a fake boyfriend? My day is most likely going to consist me sitting on Gale's couch losing to him in Halo." She smiled as the two walked towards the lockers, where she grabbed her bag and headed to the entrance.

Madge stopped in her place and turned to Peeta. "Alma called some paparazzi and tipped them off that we would be working out here. All you have to do is smile and wave to me then walk in the opposite direction. Got it?" She had the calm tone of voice that signified that this was nothing new for her. The pair exited, slipping on sunglasses to protect their eyes from the flashing lights.

On cue, a quarter down the block Peeta called her name and waved. She played her part perfectly, blushing and waving back. The paparazzi followed him, screaming questions at his back.

"Peeta! Peeta! How was your workout?"

"Pretty good thank you, now-" He was about to tell the paparazzi to fuck off, but that would be even worse for his image.

"Peeta! Peeta! Have you been getting sweaty with Madge Undersee behind closed doors too?"

Effie had instructed him not to answer questions about Madge directly, but to just smile and say, "I don't know what you're talking about." Peeta unlocked and climbed into his Jeep. "See you guys later!" He said sarcastically as he rolled up the windows and pulled out of the spot. Peeta drove uptown, towards East 35th where Gale's apartment was located. After circling the block a few times, Peeta found a spot to park. Striding to the building in a San Diego Padres hat and sunglasses, he managed to fly under the radar.

He nodded and high-fived the doorman who motioned to the elevators in the back. "Nice seeing you again Mr. Mellark, you can go right up."

As the number above the elevator door climbed, Peeta mind wandered to Katniss. _I wonder what she's doing right now?_ He stepped out the elevator and pressed the doorbell a few times. He could hear a Black Keys song playing from inside, and the sound of laughter and video games. Gale's younger brother Rory opened the door.

"Hey man, what's good?" They performed a handshake and moved to the den. Gale, Thresh and Thom (a reoccurring cast member on Glenwood's Hunters) were sitting on the large couch playing what Peeta could tell by the screams and curse words, Madden. Finnick was off to the side sitting in a chair with his long time girlfriend Annie Cresta on the arm-rest.

Annie, with bright blonde hair and sea green eyes, was not the loudest person in the room. She started off as a child star whose parents forced her into doing TV shows and movies at the age of 5. She had a very successful career until she got into an abusive relationship with Cato Abrams. He physically and verbally berated her from ages 17-19, the two years that they dated. The abuse only stopped when 21-year old Finnick stopped him from hitting her in the parking-lot of a New York Starbucks five years ago. He promised to never let anyone hurt her ever again, and they became inseparable ever since. Annie still struggles with deep depression some days, but since her and Finnick have become more serious the dark days have become fewer and far in-between. She's started acting again, most recently filming as Cher Horowitz in the Clueless remake.

Annie stood up to hug Peeta, who at only 5'11 still towered over her petite 5'3 frame. "It's so nice to see you Peeta, it's been such a long time since I've been to LA. It seems like Clueless has been shooting for forever!" She motioned to her hair, which was a few shades from it's natural light brown color.

"I mean blonds do have more fun," Peeta joked before crashing down on the couch. Thresh, Thom and Gale gave him short acknowledgments before returning to their game.

"You can join next game, sit tight I'm kicking Thom's ass," Thresh said before landing a touchdown. Peeta laughed at the brunette who let out a sound of frustration.

The blond pulled out his phone and checked his twitter feed - Effie said it was a good way to connect with his fans in this "high tech digital world." His notifications told him that already a couple of his 500,000 twitter followers were tweeting about his gym visit with Madge. Peeta froze. He hadn't anticipated anyone to pick up on his and Madge's fake relationship until he had time to get to know Katniss better, and be able to explain the situation to her. But if he explained it now, he risked the chance of scaring her off.

As if she could tell he was thinking of her, Peeta's phone buzzed with a text from Katniss. _Katniss: Prim's got me hooked on your silly show. I started on Sunday and it's my day off and I'm already 8 episodes deep... SOS!_

Peeta smiled to himself. _That means she was thinking of me!_ He quickly typed out a response.

_Peeta: I haven't seen the old episodes of GH in so long... so tell me. Did I get more attractive?_

_Katniss: Hmmm... I think I'd need to see you in person again to make a fair comparison. Come over?_

Peeta nearly dropped his phone in disbelief. While he really enjoyed their date, he didn't think she liked him nearly as much as he liked her. After retelling his date to Finnick over the phone Sunday night, he told him to watch out for coming off too strong. Did this mean that she also felt something for him?

When he didn't respond for a minute, Peeta received another text.

_Katniss: Sorry that was stupid of me! You probably have some celebrity thing to do right now, you don't have to come._

Peeta made sure to respond to this message quickly.

_Peeta_: _No! I'm totally free, and I'd love to come over. Address?_

_Katniss: 432 East 9th street between 1st and Avenue A. Bring snacks :)_

Peeta slipped his phone back into his pocket. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think of an excuse to tell his friends for leaving. "Hey guys," Peeta yelled over 'Tighten Up,' "I'm gonna head out. Effie's busting my balls about some appearance I have to make and she wants me to be prepared."

Finnick looked up from Annie, who was currently sitting in his lap. "C'mon Peet, you haven't even been here for 20 minutes!"

Thom glanced at Peeta before returning his attention to the screen. "Yeah, you haven't seen me cry yet."

"It's coming soon don't worry," piped Gale. "What I don't understand is how you can be so bad at Madden? We play this game practically every day."

Realizing the attention had shifted away from him, Peeta made his exit. "Sorry guys, I'll make it up to you soon." He looked at Annie. "Nice to see you again Annie, we gotta catch up over coffee sometime." Peeta had known Annie almost as long as Finnick had, and she was like a little sister to him.

Peeta took the service entrance out of Gale building. He couldn't take the risk of being followed to Katniss' house - that would bring Katniss into the spotlight and even though he barely knew her, it wasn't something Peeta wanted to do. Stopping first at a small bakery that reminded him of the one his parents ran back home, Peeta arrived at Katniss' house without incident. He rang the buzzer twice, impatient to get inside before someone recognized him under his baseball cap.

Katniss' cheery voice rang over the loudspeaker.

"Come on up, apartment 3A."

* * *

_Katniss_

"I can't believe you're dumb enough to go to a strangers house with the promise of food," Katniss quoted Peeta from their first date as she opened the door.

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who asked me to bring food." Peeta held up a pastry box. Taking the box of baked goods from Peeta, Katniss beckoned him inside the apartment.

Ignoring his comment, Katniss looked Peeta up and down, nodding at his gym attire. "Good outfit choice. Now I don't feel overdressed." She motioned to her old UMass soffe shorts and faded FDNY shirt that fit her snugly. "However, there is a difference because I suspect that you were actually at the gym while I sat my ass on the couch all day." She turned around to see Peeta looking around her apartment. Suddenly she felt self conscious - he lived in a 18,000 dollar a month apartment, while she lived in a cramped 2 bedroom, 5 story walk up.

"Sorry, I know it's not much. I haven't really had time to do renovations." _Or money_ she thought to herself. Peeta looked at her with a smile.

"No, It's very home-y. It feels lived in. I like it. And seriously, you gotta stop worrying if I'm judging you or something. I find you very interesting and attractive, so quit thinking like you're below me." His blue eyes bore into her grey ones.

Katniss blushed, beating herself up as she turned back to the box of pastries. She always managed to sound so stupid in insecure in front of Peeta. "Alright I'll try to stop I promise. It's just that every time I try and talk to you, I always think I sound dumb." She grabbed two plates from the kitchen and turned back to him.

"I can assure you that nothing could sound more dumb than any of my lines in the first season of Glenwood's Hunters." she let out a breathy laugh. "Now, what episode were you on again?"

"You just killed your first alien, so episode 9?" Katniss carried the box and plates to the living room, setting them down on the coffee table. Peeta made himself comfortable on her couch, propping his feet next to the box on the coffee table and spreading hims arms out. Katniss reached into the box and grabbed a coconut cream filled glazed donut. She pressed play on the remote before settling back into Peetas outstretched left arm and tucking her feet underneath her thighs.

During each episode, Peeta periodically whispered small facts in Katniss' ear. "Did you know that Finnick does 200 sit ups before every shirtless scene?"

"Did you know that in season 1 I was so fit because I wasn't 21 yet and couldn't legally go and get plastered every night?"

"Did you know that our director Seneca Crane got fired because he didn't put in enough shirtless scenes for Gale and Thresh?"

No matter how many times Katniss told him to "SHHH," he wouldn't shut up. After going through four 30 minute episodes with Peeta's non stop talking, Katniss paused the TV. "Its practically as if you don't want me to watch the show." Peeta's hands played with her braid.

"Maybe. I mean why watch TV when you have the real thing right here?" He started to lay tentative kisses on her neck, and Katniss had to bite her tongue to keep from moaning. He made eye-contact to make sure she was ok with the lips moved up from her neck to her jaw, scratching her with his stubble. Katniss pushed him away giggling.

"Stop! Your beard tickles!" Peeta shifted so that Katniss fell in his lap. She turned to face him and put her legs behind his back as she kissed his nose. His breathing slowed as she grinded into him. Katniss laid kisses on his forehead, his nose, his cheek and his jaw line before looking into his eyes and kissing him on the mouth. Peeta deepened it, asking for permission by swiping his tongue across her lower lip. She tasted the pumpkin spice of the scone he had eaten earlier. Katniss slowly trailed her hands down his body, resting where Peeta was currently pitching a large tent in his athletic shorts.

Peeta let out an loud groan at her touch. She started to stroke him over his pants with her right hand, and trace his waistband with her left. He broke away from Katniss. "Should we stop? I mean I don't even know what your favorite color is, and I don't want to pressure you into anything."

Katniss looked at him, trying to read his emotions. "My favorite color is green. But by the looks of it you don't actually want to stop." His erection twitched.

Peeta reconnected their lips before pulling apart again. "Of course I don't want to stop. I just don't want you to feel like you're doing me a favor because I'm famous or something." Katniss ignored him and got off of his lap and onto her knees on the floor.

She kissed down his body, starting from his lips. She spoke in-between kisses saying, "I want," _Kiss_, "To do," _Kiss_, "This." _Kiss_. "I want," _Kiss_, "You." She hooked her fingers in his pants and pulled down his boxers. Peeta sprung out fully hard. His penis wasn't the longest she had ever seen, but he made up for it in thickness. Katniss wrapped her right hand around the base and started to pump up and down. Her left cradled his balls, slowly massaging them. Keeping eye-contact, Katniss kissed the head of his cock, slowing down the momentum of her hand when she took him fully into her mouth.

"_Katniss_," he moaned as he tucked a stray hair behind her hear. She felt the wetness between her legs as Peeta continued to moan her name. She took him out of her mouth and started to lick the sides of his shaft. Katniss looked up to see Peeta's face. He was looking at her intensely, his blue eyes clouded with desire. Taking him into her mouth again, he put his hands on her head to push it down. She didn't mind, it was less work for her.

After experimenting with depth, speed and grip, Katniss could tell that Peeta was close. He pushed her head down till she almost reached the base. "Katniss I'm about to come," he said making eye contact.

"Come for me," she said taking him deeper in her mouth one more time. With her words he became undone, shooting his seed down the back of her throat. It tasted hot and a little salty. Katniss swallowed.

Peeta pulled her back up for a kiss. "That was amazing. Thank you."

Katniss winked. "This ain't my first rodeo." While this was not her first time on the rodeo, Katniss never enjoyed giving head. With Peeta it was different - she was in awe that she could make him feel so good. The gin on his face was almost unbearable.

Peeta pulled on his boxers, while leaving his shorts on the floor. Katniss stood up and got a blanket from the closet, bringing it back to the couch. She and Prim never used the heat past February, and it was now March. This March was particularly cold, so the two sisters frequently piled on blankets. Peeta lied with his back pressed to the back of the couch, allowing for Katniss to snuggle in closely facing him. He drew lazy post-orgasm circles on her back while peppering her face with small kisses.

Katniss closed her eyes. "I don't give head to every boy I meet, I hope you know."

"I know."

"This feels different. I know I broke Prim's 'No seeing each other within 5 days of the first date,' rule. But I just really wanted to see you."

Peeta smoothed the hair on Katniss' forehead back before stating, "It's ok. I think its a dumb rule and I wanted to see you too. I want to take it slow, try and be like a normal person, but theres something..." He trailed off like he had something to say. Katniss looked up at Peeta, but it looked like it was really troubling him so she let it slide.

"Whatever it is it doesn't matter. I really like spending time with you. Now, tell me everything about yourself. Tell me about your childhood. I want to hear your voice." Her voice was soft, and sleepy. She closed her eyes.

"My mother never wanted a boy. Everyone was disappointed when I popped out, as blond-haired and blue eyed as the rest. She never really got over her disappointment, but that's a story for another day. Anyway, I grew up in a small San Diego suburb. I was considered popular I guess, with a lot of friends and a few girlfriends here and there. I played football my whole life - it started out as throwing around a ball with my dad in the backyard to playing varsity in high school. Senior year I got injured. I broke my throwing arm during the homecoming game and I was out for the whole season. My friends dared me to try out for the school play, I agreed and surprisingly I got in. The play was _Into the Woods_. I played the baker, which I think is the only reason I got in because I think my drama teacher got a kick out of that one. I fell in love with acting. I loved that you could become someone else, be in someone else's shoes and live someone else's life..." His voice trailed off when he realized Katniss was sound asleep, snoring softly. He kissed her forehead one more time before putting his head down and joining her.


	5. Author's Note

Hi guys! Really sorry because this is not an update. I just wanted to let you know that I re-wrote chapter 3. A couple of you guys said that the smut that was in it was super quick, and not particularly realistic and you were so right. I decided to delete it because I wanted to show more of Peeta nd Katniss getting to know eachother, rather than just fingerfucking. I also felt like I could save the smut and write something so much better? Basically what I'm saying is you should reread chapter 3 because I also changed some details that will be relevant in the future.

However there is still smut nd lemons in chapter 4 bc i felt it made sense and flowed with the story :)

Chapter 5 is in the works, and i'm really sorry for this fake update.

But thank you so much for all of my wonderful viewers, reviewers, favoriters and followers. It means so much to me that you like what i'm writing.

sorry for this really illegit authors note!

:)


	6. Chapter 5

_Peeta_

Peeta woke up when he heard the slam of the front door. "Katniss, I brought home some Chubby Hubby Ben & Jerry's because I thought we were out of Phish Food and it's my week to pick the ice cream." Prim looked over at the couch and saw Peeta and Katniss. "Oh!" Katniss woke up when she heard her sister's small cry. She realized the position she was in and sat up.

Peeta rubbed the back of his neck, looking between Prim and Katniss. Prims eyebrows were raised, asking for an explanation. Katniss started to ramble, "Oh we were just um you know watching TV and stuff," she looked to Peeta for help.

He walked over to Prim and extended his hand. He turned on his charming, million dollar smile. "Hi, I'm Peeta."

Prim shook his hand and said, "Primrose, but you can call me Prim." She raised her eyebrows again when she looked down at what Peeta was wearing.

Peeta was confused until he looked down at himself. After Katniss had gone down on him, he hadn't bothered to put his shorts back on. Realizing he was standing in front of Katniss' sister in only his boxers, Peeta felt his face turn bright red. Prim looked at Katniss again, who scowled at her. She moved to the kitchen to stick the ice cream in the fridge. "Well, I'll see you guys later. And it was nice to meet you Peeta, I'm a big fan."

When the petite blonde left the room, Peeta let out a sigh when Katniss burst out laughing. He looked at her while he retrieved his shorts from the floor. The sound of her laughter was like music to Peeta's ears, but he tried to fake a pout. "Not really seeing how this is funny." Katniss' laughs turned into snorts.

"Wow I'm going to get so much shit for this. Prim is going to grill me so hard you can't even _imagine_," Katniss said as she tried to regain composure.

Peeta stuck his tongue out at her before putting on his Padres hat and fishing his phone out of his pocket. Katniss looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? You're actually wearing a Padres hat? You should be glad I didn't see that before I went down on you because that shows poor decision making on your behalf."

He put his hands up in the air and shrugged, replying, "Hey, hey hey. Do not hate on the Padres, they were a decent team a few years ago. I grew up watching their games." Peeta turned his attention away from Katniss to his phone and winced at the amount of text messages, emails and missed calls he had from Effie and Haymitch. He rolled his eyes and flashed his phone in Katniss' direction. "I think that my cue to go."

Katniss stood up to walk him to the door. "Do you want to try and do this like normal people? Except for the fact that you're a celebrity and a Padres fan and stuff. I mean I had a really nice time, and I don't want to fuck it up by jumping into things. Assuming 'this,'" She motioned between the two of them. "Works out, we can go on dates in our apartments and you can kiss me at the door, and have the 'are we exclusive' talk after the 6th date and not get into my pants until the 12th."

Peeta laughed. "12th? I think that's a little steep."

Katniss put her finger on her chin. "Hmmm. I'll say 9 dates because you're cute." Peeta kissed her before opening the door.

"We'll see about that." With a wave, he exited Katniss' apartment. Pulling his hat down farther, he jogged down the stairs and out to his car. Peeta buckled his seatbelt before dialing Effie's number. Peeta heard Effie's voice boom out of the speakers in the Jeep as he pulled out the parking spot.

"Mr. Mellark do you know how many times I have tried to contact you?" Peeta grimaced as he turned left on 2nd avenue.

"I did not count exactly-" Effie cut his snarky remark short.

"I have called twice, left you five messages and emailed you three times. I don't care if you don't care about your own career, because I do. It's my job to make sure you don't screw up for Capitol Management's President Snow. Because if I make the first Capitol Management super star since Haymitch Abernathy, I might finally get promoted out of this goddamn publicist position." she snapped. Peeta could tell she was really mad - she rarely cursed and her voice rarely went up so many octaves. The beginning of her rant lead Peeta to believe she cared about him, but by the time she finished her sentence he realized she was just another piece in Snow's game.

"I'm _so _sorry Effie," he strained to make his voice as soft and genuine as possible. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel when he came to a red light. "Now, what was so important?"

"Thank you for your concern Peeta, it means a lot," Effie's tone instantly softened. "What I was trying to say before, is that I believe you are forgetting that because you were supposed to star in Archie, the producers wrote you out of season five of Glenwood's. While I'm sure they can write you back in, it certainly won't be before midway through the season."

Peeta cursed under his breath. The cars behind him honked when he didn't move after the light turned green. "So in other words, you are currently unemployed. Luckily for you, Haymitch called up one of his actor-turned-director buddies, Chaff McCormack, to see if he had any roles for you. You met him backstage at the Emmys last September, if I recall correctly. Anyway, Chaff is working on some sort of action flick that it supposed to be the 2014 spring break blockbuster. They're still looking for a male lead, and Chaff agreed to let you take a shot at the script."

Peeta let out a sound of excitement. "Oh my god, that's great! I won't mess this one up -" Effie cut him off again.

"Yes, yes, I know. You won't let us down, you won't screw up, you'll try your hardest," she drew out her words until she almost sounded bored and or sarcastic. "I dropped the script off at your apartment, it should be on the foyer table. You'll be reading for Chaff and some others at Victor Studios in Los Angeles in 3 weeks. As long as you and Miss Undersee's relationship pans out as scheduled, you and I should be back in Snow's good graces!" Returning to her normal chipper tone, Effie hung up.

Peeta let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. _3 weeks?_ He thought, furring his eyebrows. It was March 19th, which meant that he had until April 2nd to get his shit together. He had to get this role, or else he knew he would be in big trouble with President Snow.

His mind drifted to the Madge and Katniss situation as he drove his Jeep into the parking garage across the street from his building. One side of his brain told him that what he was doing to Katniss was wrong, but the other side told him he didn't know her well enough to actually hurt her. One thing Peeta could be sure, was that he felt some sort of connection with Katniss he had never felt with any of the girls in his past.

Sending a small wave to the paparazzi hanging outside his building, Peeta unlocked the front door and stepped into the lobby. He pulled out his phone in the elevator and dialed a number, listening to it ring for a few seconds before a voice responded on the other line.

"Hey Mellark whats up?"

Peeta tucked his phone between his ear and shoulder blade while turning the key in his apartment door. "Hey Finnick, you and Annie wanna come over?" Closing the door behind him, he checked his watch as he walked over to the table where Effie said she left the script. It was a little after four p.m, which usually marked the time Gale got tired of social interaction and kicked everyone out of his house.

Peeta could hear Finnick repeating his question to Annie in the background. He let out a low whistle at the sight of the script. It was half an inch thick, and had to be at least 150 pages. He put his phone on speakerphone before setting it down on the table to flip through the script with two hands. Peeta noticed Effie (or more like Effie's assistant) had been nice enough to highlight all the parts that belonged to the male lead. He grimaced when he realized that almost half the script was highlighted.

Peeta took his phone and walked to his room while he waited for Finnick to respond. He got a response as he kicked off his shoes and fell into bed. "Annie said sure, but only because she likes you. You're gonna have to pay for stealing personal time from me and my woman!" Peeta laughed when he heard Annie scold him for objectifying her in the background.

"Well, I have a _really_ _big_ script here - which I'm sure is something we can all enjoy."

Peeta could feel Finnick rolling his eyes at his bad pun. "Yeah, yeah. We'll be over soon, just make sure there's beer for me and wine for m'lady.

* * *

_Katniss_

On Saturday, Katniss found herself running in and out of the kitchen at The Hob. Ever since the Glenwood's Hunter's made their appearance, every single night had been busier than ever. After 5 straight hours of waitressing, Katniss found relief at the end of her busy shift. Johanna eyed her from behind the sink, where she and the other cooks were cleaning the pots that had held the mysterious soup of the day.

"I don't think we have ever had this many people, even on a Saturday night. How'd you hold up Brainless?" Brainless was the endearing nickname Johanna had given to Katniss during her first week as a waitress, when she had no clue what she was doing.

Katniss sighed in Johanna's direction, glancing at the big clock on the wall to check the time. 11:30, which meant her last shift was over and The Hob was closing for the night. "Have I told you how much I hate working Fridays and Saturdays?" Katniss said, while moving to punch out her time-card in the back.

"Every Friday and Saturday, trust me. But you look more exhausted than ever, something keeping you up at night? Or perhaps someone?"

Johanna said that loud enough for a couple of the other waiters and waitresses to turn around and look at her. She blushed and looked down at the floor. While she and Peeta had been keeping in touch by texting, he had been too busy during the day and her too exhausted at night for the two to have seen each other in person since Tuesday. "No, Johanna," replied Katniss loud enough so her coworkers would lose interest and turn away. "I'm not sleeping with anyone, but thank you for bringing it up in the workplace." She loved Jo, but her inappropriate jokes were not always welcome.

The real reason Katniss was tired was because she had stayed up late the last few nights looking up jobs in landscape architecture online - but she wasn't going to announce that in front of all the cooks and waiters of The Hob.

Katniss disappeared into the employee's only room, grabbing her jacket and purse from her assigned locker. She had made $120 on tips today alone, which was one of the perks of working Saturday. Separating 40 bucks to give to her bus-boy Darius, Katniss shoved the 80 dollars into her wallet.

Biding goodbye to her fellow employees, Katniss walked out of the heat and into the breezy March night. Midway through her 20 minute walk home, her music coming from her headphones was paused by the ringing of her cellphone. Without looking who was calling, Katniss pressed accept call.

"Hello?" She asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the quiet neighborhood.

Peeta's voice boomed out from her headphones. "H-h-h-eeeey Katnisssss! Hooowww yadoin?" he slurred.

Katniss raised an eyebrow at his tone and kicked a Coke can out of her way as she walked down the street. "Oh hi Peeta. I'm doing fine, I'm actually walking home from work." She heard him let out a string of profanities at the sound of something shattering in the background. Katniss furred her eyebrows before speaking cautiously. "Peeta? Are you drunk?" she said in disbelief.

"Oh man, you figrdd it out reeeeally quick! Speeeedy quick!"

Katniss groaned internally - she alway hated dealing with drunk people. "Are you okay Peeta? Is there a reason you called?"

"I'm, I'm, I'm," he stuttered, "Only a teeeny tiiiiny iiitty bitttty drunk. I just, I just wantedtoseeyourbeautifulface," he said, the words falling out of his mouth all at once.

"O.k," she replied, trying to keep calm. "Well, here I am. Is there anything you need from me?" Albeit annoyed, Katniss admitted to herself that being drunk called by Peeta Mellark was somewhat flattering.

"Weeeeeeelll, I'd reeeeally reeeally like it if you came over."

Katniss looked at the streets in front of her. She was close to the 14th street R train, which could take her a few blocks away from Peeta's house. When she didn't respond immediately, Peeta spoke up again. "Pretty pleeeaassseee."

She sighed. "Ok, fine. I'll come over. See you -" he cut her off.

"Wait wait wait. Oneeeee more thing."

"What?" she snapped.

"Taco Bell? Theres one riiiight near me."

"Ok, I'm hanging up before you ask me for anything else. I'll see you in like 15 minutes." Katniss hung up, and pulled her phone out of her pocket to send a quick text to Prim telling her not to wait up. With another big sigh, she set off to the subway. Before going in she asked herself _Why am I doing this for a boy I just met?_

One train and a Taco Bell stop later, Katniss arrived at Peeta's doorstep. The paparazzi that hung around the deli on the corner paid her no attention in her black coat, blue jeans and black "The Hob" uniform shirt. She pressed the buzzer, and was immediately let in. _Someone is eager for their Taco Bell_ she thought to herself as she stepped into the elevator.

Walking down his hallway, Katniss started to second guess herself. _What if he doesn't remember calling me? What if he just wanted someone dumb enough to bring him Taco Bell at midnight?_ She held her breath as she knocked on his door, she could hear his heavy footfalls from the other side.

"Katniss!" He yelped, enveloping her in an unexpected bear hug. Peeta was shirtless in his boxers, his open can of Budweiser spilling on the floor next to the door. While grateful for the warm welcome, Peeta reeked of liquor and beer and it made Katniss nauseous.

"Hi Peeta," she replied before wiggling out of his hug, instead taking his can of beer and placing the plastic bag full of Taco Bell in his hands. Closing the door behind her, Katniss scanned his apartment. There were cans and bottles of beer everywhere, along with one empty and one half finished bottle of Abslout. The air smelled of weed and cigarettes.

She put the can of beer on his kitchen counter, then followed Peeta to his man cave, where he sat on the floor digging into a 7-layer burrito. There was a game of NBA 2k13 left on pause on the big TV screen. Katniss shrugged off her jacket and sat on the floor looking at him. "Looks like you had quite the party here?"

He tried to speak mid chew, a glob of beef falling on Peeta's chest as he looked up and gave Katniss a big goofy smile. "Weellll," he tried to explain while wiping his chest with a discarded shirt. "Finnick got this bigggg new modeling contract, yanno because according to everyone he's 'dreeamyyyy.' Soooooo, we roundeded up the usual suspects, and got preeetty fuckin' schwasted. But Finnick had to go home to Annnnie and Thom to Deeellly and Thresh to Ruee, so I thought, why not call Katwisss," He said while rummaging through the plastic bag again to find a large soda Katniss had picked up for him.

Feeling slightly awkward while Peeta continued his drunk feast, Katniss got up to explore the room. Peeta's man cave was larger than Katniss and Prim's living room, with a long dark brown leather couch up against one wall and a matching recliner in one corner and a pool table in the other. The other wall had a shelf full of DVDs, and video games for Xbox and Playstation, along with the consoles and a 50 inch TV. The walls were covered in paintings and photographs, most of them sunsets and people she presumed were his family.

Peeta continued to slur about his night in between bites as he moved to a chicken soft shell taco. "But, but, but it was like a crraaazzy night like like like Thresh rolls theeeee best joints and and and it felt like I was back at UCLA, I mean I was only there for a year but I got sooooo stoooooned like every day -" Katniss turned to face him.

"You dropped out of college? Oh man am I dat-" she caught her before she said the word 'dating.' "I mean hanging out with a delinquent?"

Too drunk to notice her slip of tongue, he sent a smile her way before replying, "No, you're hanging out with a CELEBRITY!" She laughed at his loud goofy tone.

Turning around to leaf through the video games, Katniss' face lit up as she picked one out. "Ah-ha! I haven't played this in so long, we have to play." She waved around a copy of Guitar Hero before throwing it in Peeta's lap and moving across the room to look for the guitar and microphone.

"Awwwww yeeaaaa, I'm awesome at this game. I shotty guitar!" Peeta yelled while pushing the leftover Taco Bell into the corner. Katniss paused when she only found the guitar and microphone. She didn't want to sing in front of Peeta, although when she used to play this game with her family she had always jumped at the microphone.

"Sorry Peeta, but you're going to have to get the microphone. I'm a pro at guitar." She handed the microphone to Peeta, thankful that he was drunk enough to accept it without any questions. Katniss grabbed the playstation controller and replaced the NBA 2k13 disc with Guitar Hero. Peeta wobbled a little when he stood up, grabbing onto Katniss to keep him steady.

She slung the guitar over her shoulder and turned to Peeta. "Are you ready to rock?"

He grabbed her hips and pressed himself into her backside, his thin cotton boxers leaving little for imagination. "I am most certainly ready to rock."

"Ew, c'mon. Save it," Katniss said while peeling his hands off of her. He gave her a pout and she gave him a small kiss on the cheek - there was no way she was giving him a real kiss considering what had been in his mouth earlier.

Peeta's drunken off-key singing and Katniss' guitar hero skills lasted the two until after 1am, when Peeta had sobered up enough to realize how bad his singing actually was. Katniss took off the plastic guitar, putting it in the corner where Peeta had thrown the microphone. He was currently sucking down the flat, watered down Coke from the large cup he left with the rest of his Taco Bell.

She raised her eyebrows at him, silently questioning his actions. He put the cup down on the floor. "You said you wouldn't kiss me with Taco Bell mouth so I'm trying to make my mouth really clean!" Although he was no longer slurring his words, Katniss could tell that Peeta was still a little drunk by his slightly jumbled words and strange logic. However, he was shirtless and still full of his classic boyish charm that Katniss felt strangely attracted to.

"Ok, maybe I'll retract that statement," she said while walking towards him and the couch. As soon as she was close enough, he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into his lap with a surprised giggle. Moving into a more comfortable position with her on her knees straddling his hips, Katniss studied his face. Freckles lined his cheeks, while his long blond eyelashes left shadows on his face in the dim light. Suddenly filled with the sudden desire for everything Peeta, she went in for a kiss. His left hand was firmly on her ass, while his right snaked around and undid her braid.

Their tongues fought for dominance, but as soon as Katniss won the battle, Peeta pulled away. He was no longer smiling, and his fair skin suddenly five shades paler than it had been before. Katniss furrowed her eyebrow and climbed off of him. "Are you ok? You just got really pale?"

He pushed his hair back, and put his hand on his stomach. "Yeah, I just don't feel very good, just give me a -" his sentence was paused by Peeta pushing off the couch and running into the other room.

"Oh god," Katniss muttered, following him out of the room. _I hope he at least made it to the bathroom _she thought to herself. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard vomiting from inside the bathroom. She knocked on the door. "Peeta are you okay? You sound like you're puking your brains out."

She heard Peeta spit a few times, then flush the toilet. "Yeah, I'm ok. You can come in." Katniss opened the door to see Peeta heaving in front of the toilet. His drunken disheveled self looked out of place in the granite and glass bathroom. He sent her a sheepish smile as she moved to sit on the rim of the bathtub.

She sent him a look of pity. "Anything I can do for you? I don't drink anymore but I spent a lot of time kneeling in front of a toilet in college." He opened his mouth to speak, but gagged and turned to throw up again. Katniss rubbed his back, consoling him by saying it would be all over soon. Midway through vomit number five, she got up and returned with a glass of water.

Peeta accepted it gratefully, sitting up and ignoring Katniss's warning to drink slowly. "Thank you so much, please remind me to never ever drink alcohol again." Katniss extended her hand down to help him up. He was still unsteady on his feet, the last bits of alcohol still in his body.

"Try saying that completely sober." She stood behind him as he looked at his face in the mirror. He looked like an absolute mess, with his hair sticking out in ten different directions and a mixture of saliva and vomit on his cheek. Peeta let out a whistle at the sight of himself. Katniss laughed, pushing her unbraided hair behind her ear.

"I think I look hella sexy. But it is past way my bedtime," he said, still mixing up a few words in his sentence before looking to Katniss. Her smile fell - this was his nice way of kicking her out after all she had done.

She avoided his gaze by looking at her watch. It was 2:30 am on a Sunday morning, which means all the trains were running on their weird late night schedule and the streets would be deserted. "Oh yeah, I guess I should get going." She turned to open the bathroom door, but felt Peeta's strong grip on her arm.

"You can't go home silly!" He rolled his eyes as if it was obvious. "Stay here!" He opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out an unopened toothbrush. Katniss looked hesitant, but Peeta stared into her eyes and pouted.

"Okay, fine. But NO funny business." He pulled her into the second bear-hug of the night, nearly crushing her tiny frame.

The two of them spent half an hour in the bathroom brushing their teeth, mostly Katniss helping Peeta because his motor skills were still lacking. He stumbles twice trying to lead her to his bedroom before Katniss took his hand and lead the way. While the apartment was quite large, it was not hard to navigate.

He flopped down on his bed as soon as they entered the room, drunkenly reciting lines from the script he was working on. Katniss looked around the room for a dresser or closet - she was not planning on sleeping in her already grimy work clothes. "I'm going to borrow some clothes, I hope thats ok with you." He mumbled some sort of assent from the bed, lying on his back but propped up by his shoulders.

She yawned while picking out a large, soft, grey and blue UCLA shirt from a neatly folded pile. "Don't look," she warned Peeta before wiggling out of her pants and pulling her black work shirt over her head. She felt his eyes staring at her simple black thong and navy bra anyway. _Boy am I glad I got waxed last week!_ She turned around to scowl at him. "At least pretend not to look?"

He covered his eyes with his hands, still peaking out from under them. "I can't resist a pretty lady!" Too lazy to look through Peeta's shorts to find ones that wouldn't fall off her small hips, she threw on the t-shirt and decided to forgo pants.

"Alright cowboy, it's time to go to sleep. It's past 3 a.m. and I need my beauty sleep."

Katniss turned off the lights before slipping under the covers with Peeta. He was nodding off now, unconsciously pulling Katniss's back closer to his chest. She didn't mind, she was fond of cuddling in bed. Katniss finally found a comfortable place for her head when Peeta started to mumble into the back of her neck. She could only make out a few words, but she was certain she heard, "I'd get drunk every day if I could spend the night in bed with you, Katniss Everdeen."

Smiling to herself, Katniss drifted off to sleep

* * *

The next morning, Katniss grabbed a fist full of sheets before stretching her air smelled like vanilla and maple syrup - inhaling a deep breath, she stopped and opened her eyes. She was not in her own house. Katniss sat up, trying to adjust to the dimly light room. In a rush, its all came back to her - she slept over at Peeta's house after he called her asking for her to come over. However, Peeta was nowhere to be found.

Scooting to the side of the bed, Katniss grabbed her cell phone from the nightstand. It was only 11 a.m., and she already had 4 text messages from Prim asking if she was still alive. "Shit," she muttered, quickly dialing Prim's number. She picked up on the second ring.  
"Katniss, oh my god I was so worried! Are you okay?" Her tone quickly turned from concerned to annoyed. "You sent me a text at 11:45 saying 'don't wait up for me.' That didn't give me any indication as to where you were when you _still _weren't here this morning! Where the hell even are you?"

"Jesus Prim, I'm not dead calm down. I went to Peeta's house last night and it was too late to come home so I decided to sleep over." Katniss could picture her sister's face changing.

"Oh. I see. I'll let you go now because you're probably preoccupied with _fucking Peeta Mellark_, but you're going to have to do some explaining when you get home. Bye!" With that, Prim hung up and the line went dead. Katniss felt her face turn pink - she knew Prim would not let this one slide. Pausing to rebraid her hair and stretch, she followed the smell of cinnamon and sugar and faint music into the kitchen and living room.

Katniss stopped when she saw Peeta. His back was turned to her, but she could see his muscles flexing as he whisked a bowl of egg whites. His blond curls were damp and dripping onto his broad, shirtless shoulders. While he had put on pants, Katniss could still make out his very well defined ass. He was whistling along off key to a White Stripes song - one of the ones they had sang last night - which made Katniss laugh out loud.

Peeta abruptly stopped singing and turned around to face her, cheeks red with embarrassment. "_Goodmorning_," he said while slowly taking in Katniss's appearance from the bottom, up. She pulled the hemline of the shirt lower to hide the small bit of ass peaking out and sent him a smile. _How much of last night did he remember?_

Katniss walked to the kitchen bar, noting how the apartment was significantly cleaner than they left it last night. "You sure are up bright and early considering how smashed you were last night."

Peeta poured the eggs in the small pan, before moving to the larger one to flip a pancakes. "Fun fact, I don't sleep. During filming months I don't get to sleep before 2 am and I wake up at 6, so my body is pretty used to it. However I'm pretty sure I'm still drunk because I vomited in the shower and I can barely form coherent sentences."

Katniss wrinkled her button nose. "Thank you for the information! So do you remember last night or do you need a recap?"

"Everything is still a little fuzzy but it couldn't have been that bad if it ended up with you in only a thong and my t-shirt sleeping in my bed," Peeta sent a cocky glance her way before sprinkling white and milk chocolate chips in the pancakes.

"Maybe you're still too drunk to remember but I said no funny business and made sure to keep it that way. Besides, I wouldn't want our first time -" she stopped when she heard the words come out of our mouth. _'Our first time?' _she thought, mentally slapping herself. _Oh god, now he's going to think that I'm already planning our wedding! _He turned around after she stopped mid sentence. She opened her mouth to speak, but thankfully Peeta saved her.

"Oh yeah totally, drunk sex is not fun when only one person is drunk. Anyway, I doubt I would have been able to even get it up," motioning to his crotch.

Katniss hopped off the chair and moved to the kitchen to figure out Peeta's coffee maker. With the way this conversation was headed, she was going to need a cup of coffee. "Hmm, strange because you seemed perfectly able to get it up in bed. Maybe it was something else pressing up against my butt," Katniss said with a toothy grin

"Nope, pretty sure it was my dick." He turned off the stove before sliding the eggs from the pan onto a plate and loading the pancakes onto another. "Hope you don't mind egg-whites with tomatoes and mushrooms, I'm sorta on a diet." Katniss got on her toes to reach for a mug.

"Do you really think I'm going to complain that someone is making me food?" Peeta shrugged before grabbing utensils and placing the food on the kitchen bar.

Katniss moaned after taking her first bites of breakfast. Peeta chuckled, turning on Good Day New York on the TV that hung in the kitchen. "Seriously Peeta, do you make this for every girl you meet? Because this is seriously amazing."

He shook his head before looking down at the floor. "Nah, I only make it for girls who take care of me and bring me Taco Bell when I call them drunk." Katniss made eye contact with Peeta. She knew that if he ever called her drunk, she would be more than happy to do it again. _So much for taking this slow_.

* * *

wooo chapter 5! sorry it took so long to update, i made it a little longer to compensate. no smut here but i can assure you there will be in chapter 6. do you guys mind how i'm ending the chapters? this chapter is a little longer because i moved some of the stuff i was going to put in chapter 6 (the morning after, i didn't want it to be redundant to the same ending as chapter 4) in this. this was a super katniss heavy chapter, but i felt it fit well. there was not very much madge in this chapter, ik, but i've got it all planned out and you can wait and see! sorry if i'm rushing things w peeta and katniss and that its a tad bit unrealistic - i just want them to be a couple because thats a lot more fun to write about.


	7. Chapter 6

Haymitch hit the table to get Peeta's attention. "Boy, are you even listening to me?"

The two were having dinner at Steak Frites, a quiet French restaurant in Greenwich Village trying to discuss their plans for the next few days. It was early Thursday evening, and Peeta, Haymitch and Effie were scheduled to leave on Saturday for his Wedesday audition in Los Angeles.

Startled, Peeta dropped his phone in his lap and looked up at Haymitch. "Oh sorry, what were you saying?" He was trying to make plans with Katniss for later, and she just texted him a funny picture of her infront of a Glenwood's Hunter's poster.

"Stupid kids and their stupid phones," he muttered under his breath before taking a large sip of his gin and tonic. "As I was saying, how long you want to stay in L.A. for? I said three weeks, so that maybe you could look for a fucking job without having to fly across the country, but Effie said two because she doesn't want you to be away from Madge too long."

Peeta's face changed at the mention of Madge. "How about 1 week? I really want to get back to Ka-" he caught himself before he said Katniss, "uh, Madge."

Haymitch raised his eyebrows suggestively before spearing a piece of his steak and shoving it in his mouth. "Really getting along with Madge, huh? You guys have been together for a month and the press is loving it. The shots of the two of you throwing around a football with those kids? Absolutely priceless. Her good girl image is making you family friendly once again. I gotta admit, this was one of Effie's better ideas."

Peeta nodded, chewing his food. Looking away from Haymitch's gaze, he changed the subject. "So, do you have any tips for the audition? Is there a certain thing that Chaff likes?"

Haymitch shook his head. "I really think they just want someone who really fits the lead. Chaff accidentally let it slip that they've already auditioned half of hollywood, but nobody works well with the female lead Enobaria." Peeta let out a grimace at the name Enobaria - while they weren't enemies, she had been a close friend of Cato's and knew that he hit Annie, but didn't do anything about it. Her unfriendly personality translated to deep passion in movies, making her a great actress. Peeta knew Chaff had casted her because they were similar in personality - always looking to drink and start a fight.

Haymitch sent Peeta a sympathetic glance, saying, "I know, I know. But it means Victor Studios is desperate, and if you can work well enough with her _and_ read the script decently, you've basically got the part."

Peeta shrugged while taking a sip of his rum and coke. "I hope so, I really love the script. The idea of two survivors searching for signs of civilization in a post-apocalyptic society is so riveting. I feel like it sends a message to people that war and an oppressive government are not a good way to go."

Haymitch looked at the blonde with sad eyes. "You're a good kid, boy. I hope you get the part, so you can share your silly views on world peace with an even bigger audience."

"Thanks Haymitch, glad that's the way you see me." They continue their meal in all smiles, laughing and making fun of all the celebrities they were supposed to see once they got back to L.A.

Haymitch looked at Peeta while he slipped his credit card back in to his wallet. He was bouncing his leg up and down, and glancing at the door. "So what are your plans for the rest of the night? Gonna go get smashed with the boys?"

Peeta shook his head, replying, "I'm trying to stop binge drinking, actually. And I'm just going to head home, have a low-key night." The truth was Katniss was coming over with a couple of movies, but he couldn't tell Haymitch that.

"You sure about that, kid? You seem awfully eager to get out of here."

Rubbing his neck, Peeta responded, "Oh no! I'm just excited to get back and watch TV, I'm trying to catch up in Game of Thrones."

Haymitch sent him a suspicious glance and the two walked towards the exit. A few light bulbs from cameras went off as the two exited the restaurant and landed on the side walk. "Well, I'll see you bright and early Saturday morning. Effie will probably harass you sometime before then." With that, Haymitch gave a wave to the paparazzi and ducked into an idling town car.

The group of photographers split up, half of them following Peeta to his car, shouting questions at his back. "Peeta! Peeta! How's Madge doing?"

He rolled his eyes under his wayfarers. "I'm not Madge, why don't you ask her?"

"Snarky Peeta! We thought you turned a new leaf!" another one yelled at him.

Peeta groaned when he spotted his car. There were Paparazzi leaning on his red Jeep Wrangler, snapping pictures of him. "Seriously? Get the fuck off my car before I call the cops."

One of them got up and shoved a camera into his face, challenging him. "What are you going to do about it Peeta? Are you mad?"

He clenched his fists to refrain from punching the guy in the face. The rest of them circled around him, blinding him as he tried to feel his way to the driver's side. "Please leave me alone!"

A couple of them laughed, and one shouted, "You chose this life Peeta! You chose to be an actor, you chose to be famous!" Peeta climbed into the car, and fumbled while trying to stick the key in the ignition.

"Well, if you don't get out of my way in about ten seconds I'm going to chose to run you over." They backed up from the car at the threat.

Putting on his seatbelt, Peeta smirked to himself as he pulled out of the parking spot. He noted that he should really invest in parking garages.

* * *

_Katniss_

"I didn't know what movies you have, so I brought a few of my favorites. I have I Love You, Man, Our Idiot Brother, Clueless, The 40-year old virgin and Anchorman, which all 'coincidentally' star Paul Rudd. Take your pick," Katniss said, taking the movies out of her bag while sitting cross legged on Peeta's bed.

He looked over to her while fumbling with the cords behind the flatscreen TV. "Anchorman. But you should know Paul Rudd is actually so cool in real life, my friend Annie is working a Clueless remake and he happened to be on set the day we visited and he was so friendly and just like _awesome_."

Katniss let out a small squeal. "Wow I don't think I have ever been more jealous of anybody in my life," she said while tossing him the DVD and putting the rest on the nightstand.

"I mean, I can take you to meet him. He gave me his number in case I ever wanted to hangout, he lives on the Upper West Side I think?" He said casually, while popping in the disc. He got up and joined Katniss on the bed.

She looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you kidding? No, Peeta, I couldn't accept that."

It was his turn to look at her. "Why not? I mean you are my girlfriend, it's not a -" Peeta stopped himself mid-sentence, realizing what he just said. He rubbed his neck with his left hand as his face heated instantly. "Oh shit, I really did not mean to say that. I mean not that I don't want you to be my girlfriend because you are obviously very attractive and very intelligent and funny, I just don't want to force you into anything that you don't want, I just said the word girlfriend because I thought we've been on a couple of dates and we talk like every night and I don't know," he started to ramble.

Katniss's expression of shock turned into a sly smile. "Jesus Christ Peeta, shut _up_." And with that, she crashed her lips into his.

It took him a few seconds to respond, but as soon as he registered what was happening, he grabbed her hips and flipped them over so that he was on top. Katniss's pulled back and giggled as his beard tickled her chin. "You better shave that before-" Peeta chose that moment to suck on the sensitive spot between her jaw and neck. Katniss let out a loud moan.

"What were you saying?" He teased, while peeling her t-shirt off her body and throwing it onto the floor. She removed her hands from his hair, reaching behind her small frame to remove her bra. He took off his own shirt while ogling her breasts. Katniss moved to cover them, suddenly feeling self conscious of their small size. Peeta moved her hands away, while cupping one in his hand. "Don't. You're perfect." He took the other in his mouth, swirling his tongue around her nipple. Katniss let out a whimper, clamping her legs together. Peeta smiled as he looked up at her. Her moans were like music to his ears.

She eventually pulled his head back up for a kiss, fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. He took the hint, pulling the t-shirt over his head. Katniss instantly ran her fingers over his hard chest, feeling the results of hours spent at the gym. "Seriously?" He sent her a cocky smile as he kissed a trail down her stomach. Peeta looked up for confirmation as he moved to unbutton her shorts. She nodded, the wetness between her legs becoming unbearable. Katniss lifted her hips off the bed as he pulled her shorts off, revealing lacy blue underwear.

He playfully raised his eyebrows at her. "Seriously?" He groaned, noting how wet she was. Peeta removed her underwear, slowly prying her legs open. He ran a finger over her slit, and Katniss withered under him. "You're already so wet Katniss," he said, his blue eyes dark with desire. Peeta continued his trail of kisses.

"Wait!" Katniss said, pushing his head away from her.

Peeta looked at her with concern. "Do you want to stop? Are you not comfortable?"

Katniss blushed. "No, it's just that you don't have to do this, you know, if you don't want to." He rolled his eyes at her, and pulled himself up to her ear.

"I've wanted to fuck you senseless since the first time I saw you. I want to do this, so enjoy it. And anyway, a Lannister always repays his debts."

Katniss burst out laughing at his words, as he moved his fingers down between her legs. "Did you really think it was a good time to quote Game of Thrones?"

She instantly quieted as Peeta's fingers started to explore her. He thrust two fingers inside of her, and Katniss purred. Everything she was thinking turned to moans. He curled the fingers and she let out a scream. Peeta teased Katniss some more, rubbing her clit before putting his mouth on it. She felt his tongue darting in and out of her, drawing circles. Her whimpers got louder and louder, as she got closer and closer to the edge. Before she let loose, Katniss pushed Peeta away from her.

"I want you. _Now_." She sat up and started to rummage through the nightstand for a condom while Peeta undid his belt and slid off his shorts. He was fully hard when Katniss handed him the foil packet. He pulled her closer to himself, gently kissing her.

"You're sure?" She nodded, licking her lips. "Lie down," he commanded, while pinching the top and rolling the condom down his shaft. Katniss readily lied down as he positioned himself between her legs. He hooked her legs over his shoulder, and bent down to kiss her as he slowly thrust into her. She whimpered as he gently moved in and out of her, the only sounds in the room being her moans and his grunts.

"_Faster_," Katniss whined. Peeta shifted so that he was holding her legs above her head. He increased his speed, hitting her in all the right spots, stretching her, making her feel so _full_. They moved in synchronicity, his groans becoming more and more guttural. Katniss' vision started to blurr and Peeta felt her walls tighten.

"You're close Katniss, I can feel it. Let go. Come for me," Peeta coaxed. Katniss became fully undone at his words, gripping his shoulders. She saw stars behind her eyes, and the only coherent word she could pronounce was _Peeta_.

His thrusts soon became erratic, his groans loud as he slammed into her. "Oh god," he said after pulling out. He bent down for a kiss before removing the condom and throwing it into the trash can next to the bed. Katniss sent him a smile while wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"That was... Wow." She grabbed the remote before pulling the sheets to her neck. Peeta kissed her temple.

"Much better than Anchorman. I'm going to go clean myself up," he said as he motioned to himself. Katniss nodded and yawned, exhausted. She smiled to herself at the way his perfect ass moved when he walked to the bathroom.

Katniss looked at the remote, trying to figure out the complicated controls. "Oh shit," she muttered, accidentally turning on the TV to one of those celebrity gossip shows. Her hand moved to change the channel, but froze when she heard the words coming out of the overly-perky woman's mouth.

"Today's hot gossip is that Peeta Mellark and Madge Undersee's relationship is heating up. They've been seen nearly _everywhere_ in the city lately, from grabbing lunch to picnics in the park. They've most recently been seen sneaking kisses on the steps of the Met. They're one of the cutest couples America has seen since Bradgelina." Katniss instantly snapped out of her post-orgasm drowsiness.

The words didn't make sense in her head - _Peeta? Her Peeta? The one who just asked her to be his girlfriend_? At first she thought it had to be a mistake, that she had heard the woman's words wrong. But then the screen flashed pictures of the two, holding hands, laughing, talking closely.

Peeta walked into the room in a new pair of boxers, and stopped abruptly when he saw what was on the TV. He looked at her, her mouth still hanging open. He moved to turn the TV off. "Katniss, I can explain."

Katniss stared at him as her eyes suddenly darkened. She pushed the covers off of her and started to look for her clothes. "You can explain? Really? I'd like to see you try," she spat.

He rubbed his neck as she brushed by him to retrieve her bra. "No, Katniss, I'm not actually dating her it's just -" she cut him off.

"It sure looked like you're dating, from all that fondling and smooching you're doing in those pictures. So what am I? The side girlfriend, there for when you want some ass? What did Madge Undersee not give you head the second time you met her, and that's why you kept me around?" Katniss felt herself raising her voice.

Peeta grabbed her arm as she tried to grab the shirt he was holding in his hand. "Listen to me, please. My stupid publicist set me up with her, we have to pretend like we're dating, for publicity. It's what everyone does, I had no say." Katniss yanked her arm from his and pulled the shirt over her head.

"Well you could have at least told me about it! Now I feel like some dumb slut. Tell me, Peeta," she said while jamming her feet in her shoes, "Did you actually want me to be your girlfriend, or was that just a trick to get me into bed?" She saw him opening his mouth to speak. "Actually, I'd prefer if you didn't answer that. Maybe if I don't know I can pretend like I have some dignity left."

Katniss grabbed the stack of DVDs and threw them into her bag. She stormed out of the room with Peeta on her tail. He looked at her helplessly as she fumbled with the front door. "I'm sorry Katniss, I didn't mean to hurt you."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Well you did. I hope I was a good lay." Katniss slammed the door, leaving hurt and upset on both sides.

* * *

woooo! sorry this took so long and sorry it's so short! i've just been so busy with school and sports and stuff. Thank you so much to the 100 people who have decided to follow this story, it means so much! reviews and feedback are much appreciated.


	8. Chapter 7

Prim banged on Katniss's wall for the 4th time that day. "Katniss it's been a week. You either need to get the fuck out of bed or tell me what's wrong."

"Leave me alone Prim! I told you, I'm fine!" The truth was Katniss was far from fine, but she wasn't going to worry Prim with her boy problems. Ever since her falling out with Peeta, she had called in sick from work and refused to get out of bed. Katniss had never had this sort of reaction regarding anybody, let alone a boy she met a month ago.

She could hear her sister sigh from behind the closed door. "At least tell me you're taking your meds."

Katniss glanced at the pill bottle on her bedside table. A few weeks ago, her therapist had determined that she showed no signs of the extreme mania or depression that plagued her mother. Dr. Aurelius had said she had cyclothymia, a milder form of bi-polar disorder. Cyclothymia meant that she was almost normal, but felt higher highs and lower lows than most people. She was prone to episodes - like the one she was currently in.

"I'm not 12 Prim, I know to take my medication. I just need a couple of days."

Prim frowned. "Ok Katniss. If you're not out of bed by tonight, I'm calling Johanna to physically drag you out." Katniss heard her sister stalk away from her door in defeat. She looked at the time - 4pm - a perfect time to go back to sleep.

Peeta

Peeta shoved his hands in his pocket after he repeatedly rang the bell on the door of Madge's West Village brownstone. Peeta felt the flashing lightbulbs of the paparazzi's cameras on his back. He soon heard Madge's footsteps coming down the stairs. She opened the door in leggings and a tank top.

"Hey Peeta! I didn't know you we're coming by today, come inside before those stupid photographers get anymore pictures," she said while ushering Peeta into the living room. He sat down on one of the plush chairs.

"Yeah, sorry for the unexpected visit. I just got back from L.A. a few days ago. I hope I'm not interrupting your busy schedule?" He said while trying to run his hands through his matted blonde curls. Madge momentarily disappeared into the kitchen to fill up two glasses of water, and sighed as she sat down in the chair across from Peeta. She offered one to him, but he declined and sent her a meek smile as he pulled out a flask. She frowned.

"Day drinking? Really? Good thing you caught me at a good time because something is definitely up." She observed Peeta closely as he took a long sip from the flask. His hair was tangled, and his sunken eyes showed no signs of sleep in the past week, and while his skin was tanned from his recent trip to California, it lacked the brightness that made him Peeta.

He looked at the ground. "I know by telling you this I'm basically giving Alma Coin all the ammo she needs to ruin my career, but I really have to get this off my chest. So throughout this weird relationship our publicists have forced us into, you've become one of my really good friends. And while I've really enjoyed spending all this time with you, I can't do it anymore. I met this girl, and she's amazing. She's so funny, and smart and pretty, but I fucked it all up because I didn't tell her about you and me and she saw something on tv about us. I knew I was deceiving both of you, and I really hope you can forgive me, but I just don't know what to do."

Madge looked at Peeta, her eyes boring in to his. She kept a straight face before letting out a sigh. Peeta looked at her, prepared for the worse. "Oh Peeta," she said, her face relaxing. "I'm so sorry, why didn't you tell me earlier? I would have made Alma stop this a long time ago."

Peeta raised his head and looked at her with a smile. "Thank you so much for understanding, I really didn't know what I would have done if you didn't want to help me." Madge amicably held his hand in hers.

"Like I said, I've been doing this my whole life. I know how it feels to be in your position, and I would never want anybody to feel that way. I'll call Alma later and make up some story about how I decided dating actors is overrated. She'll eat it right up, and you'll be free to go."

"I can't even say thank you enough. Now I just have to figure out what to do about Katniss - I've called and texted and she hasn't responded once," he said while rubbing the back of his neck.

Madge responded with a sly smile. "I think I know a way to fix things.

* * *

Katniss

"Jesus fucking christ Katniss, you look like shit." Katniss looked up at Johanna standing in her bedroom doorway.

"Prim wasn't kidding when she said she'd call you over," she said while sitting up. Johanna sat down on the edge of the bed, frowning.

She grabbed her hand. "Brainless, I'm really concerned for you. When was the last time you left the bed?" Katniss tried to run her hand through her hair and wipe the drool from the side of her mouth. "Actually, I think we're both better off if you don't answer that."

"Jo, it's ok. You don't need to worry about me, I'm just having a rough couple of days." Johanna rolled her eyes.

"Of course you're not ok, look at yourself. How about we get you in the shower and then we'll take a walk in the park or something and then go grab some food."

Katniss started to groan, but Johanna stood and scooped Katniss out from under the covers. Katniss protested as Johanna hoisted her over her shoulder and walked towards the bathroom.

"I can take care of myself!"

Johanna dropped her on the cold bathroom tile and took a seat on the closed toilet. "Judging by the rats nest on your head, I don't think so."

With wobbly legs, Katniss gripped the sink and stood up. Looking at herself in the mirror, she nearly gasped. _How did I let one boy do this to me?_ Katniss thought to herself. She felt Johanna's eyes on her - now she understood why her and Prim were so concerned. She started to panic. "This is too much for right now, I just need to take a nap," Katniss said as she reached for the door handle.

Johanna jumped up and grabbed her by the wrist. "You're getting in that shower whether or not I have to strip you down and wash you my self. Jesus christ Brainless," she snapped, her voice a mixture of anger and worry. Katniss snatched her arm away and burst into tears. Johanna's expression instantly softened as she tried to furiously wipe the tears away from her face. "Aw, c'mon now Katniss. You know I didn't mean to yell at you. Will you please tell me whats wrong?"

Katniss slid down the door, curling into a ball. "It's all my fault, I got into this huge fight with Peeta and now he's never going to want to talk to me ever again. I feel so stupid and tricked and lied to because he didn't tell me he had some fake girlfriend for T.V. I'm so conflicted and my stupid mind can't decide if it's his fault or mine but I'm beating myself up either way," she whimpered, the tears coming out of her eyes at increasing rates.

Johanna moved to cradle Katniss in her arms. "It's ok Katniss, no boy is worth that much trouble. Even a very cute one like Peeta Mellark."

"I know, I know, I keep trying to tell myself that. But then I think of how much fun we had together, how I felt like I was on the top of the world whenever he looked at me, and then I just want to call him and ask to talk."

"Well, what is he feeling? What has he said?"

Katniss nuzzled her head into Johanna, who was rubbing circles on her back. "He's been calling me, I think. I've tried to respond but every time I picked up the phone I seized up with anxiety and went back to sleep."

Johanna resisted the urge to hit Katniss over the head. "Well there you go Brainless, he obviously want to talk to you. You can give him a call right now, and I'll be here to hold your hand." Katniss smiled sympathetically through her tears.

"Do you really think he'll want to talk to me?"

"Theres only one way to find out."

Fishing her phone out of her sweatpants pocket, she clicked his name from her contact list. The two girls waited patiently on the bathroom floor and the phone continued to ring. "_Hey, you've reached Peeta Mellark-"_ Katniss let out a strangled cry at the sound of his voice, or more at his voicemail than his voice. Johanna pressed end call before pushing the phone away from them.

"Alright, he didn't pick up your call. Look on the bright side - it rang for a few seconds so you know he didn't ignore it. And hey, he's famous. He's probably doing something important."

Katniss sniffled. "It's ok, I think I've had enough Peeta for the moment," she said quietly. Johanna nodded and continued to rub circles on her back. "I don't think I can take a walk today, but we can start with a shower and ordering pizza from Ray's."

"Thank god, I thought you'd never ask.

* * *

_Peeta_

"And then I was like, 'Hey buddy, if you wanna be an asshole to me thats fine, but don't act like you're so cool because of it.' And then he punched me in the face, but I took it like the man I am." Peeta said while imitating the right hook. Finnick laughed hard at the memory, nearly knocking over his beer onto his plate of pasta.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to call B.S. on this story. James Franco did not punch you in the face backstage at the Emmy's," Annie remarked, laughing at the two guys.

"No it totally did happen, I saw it. Peeta says he took it like a man but in reality he took it like the little bitch he really is," Finnick said while spearing a meatball and forking it into his mouth.

Peeta, Annie and Finnick were enjoying a nice home cooked meal at Annie's apartment after Finnick had realized that in the last few weeks he had seen more of Peeta on TMZ than he did in person. Her Williamsburg apartment was open and well light - she tended to freak out in dark enclosed places. While it was technically Annie's apartment, it was equally Finnick's. Signs of his presence were everywhere - his lacrosse stick in the corner, a picture of the Glenwood's cast on the wall, a shirt strewn across a chair. He lived here when he wasn't in L.A., and even when he was, he flew to New York frequently to visit her.

"Hey I am not a little bitch," Peeta defended himself. "At least I didn't cry when Thom brought his lizard to set, now that's a real baby."

Finnick shuddered in his seat. "Lizards creep me the fuck out. I can't stand them. And you're not even telling the full story - Gale put it down my pants!" The trio shared a loud laugh.

Peeta felt his phone vibrate in his pants, and sighed as he noticed the caller I.D. He turned towards his friends. "Hold on a second, Haymitch is calling. I've gotta take this." He excused himself from the table, wandering into one of the spare bedrooms. He pressed accept.

"Hey kid, I have some great news for you. Victor Studios loved you, they want you to play the male lead in Chaff's movie!" Peeta's jaw dropped in surprise. While he hadn't completely messed up, he was not on his a-game during the audition. His mind was elsewhere, thinking of a brunette with a braid.

"Oh my god Haymitch, are you serious? I thought because we hadn't heard back they were going to pass on me."

"Well, they auditioned some other actors, but Enobaria couldn't stand any of them more than she couldn't stand you. You, Effie and I will have to have a meeting tomorrow but we've got you scheduled for the Caesar Flickerman show sometime this week. Congrats kid, I'm proud of you."

Peeta smiled to himself. "Thanks Haymitch. I'll talk to you later," he said as he pressed end call. Shaking with shock and excitement, he ran back into Finnick and Annie's dining room. Annie was in Finnick's lap, and he was whispering something in her ear. The two broke apart as soon as they noticed Peeta's reemergence - he chose to ignore that they were close to dry humping. "I got the part, guys I got the part!"

Annie jumped up and ran to give him a hug. "Oh my god Peeta I'm so proud of you!" Finnick came up behind her to give him a pat on the back.

"Good job man, you deserve it. But you know what that means? Time to pop some champagne!"

* * *

"I haven't heard from you in what, like three months and the first time I see you is when you're on set? Seriously Peeta?" Rue Erwin playfully frowned at Peeta as the two of them walked through the T.V. studio.

"I mean, Zac Efron was here last week and we're both young attractive actors, I doubt you were able to tell difference," he joked while swerving around a camera crew.

Rue sent him an annoyed glance. She worked as the talent organizer on The Caesar Flickerman Show, the late night show where anyone who was relevant wanted to be seen. It was the same place she had met Thresh three years ago, when he had made an appearance after being bumped up to series regular on Glenwood's.

Usually Rue was sweet and friendly, but at work she was a completely different person. Her dark brown curls were tied up in a tight bun and her wide rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of her nose. She carried around a clipboard with 20 sheets of paper, and a pencil behind her ear incase she ever needed to scribble anything down. Her blue button down blouse, black skinny jeans and Supergas fit her petite 5'2 frame. At any given time she was flying around the studio trying to make sure everything was in place and the talent attended to.

"Hey hey, it's not my fault the old man wants you all to himself. You two go upstate to the Catskills practically every weekend," Peeta continued to attempt to defend himself.

"Stop calling Thresh an old man, I swear to god he's gonna beat you up the next time he hears you say that." Peeta's joke referenced the 6 year age gap between Rue and Thresh, which all of their friends constantly poked fun of. Rue was the youngest of their little group at only 22, but she had her life figured out better than the rest of them - Thresh proposed six months ago.

Rue turned left down a hallway and lead Peeta to a door. "Hair, costume and makeup is in there. It's a live show so we start filming in about an hour. My assistant will come and get you when it's time. I'll see you around, good luck."

_Katniss_

Katniss collapsed on the couch next to her sister, exhausted. "How was your first day back?" Prim asked, pushing her glasses up her nose and shifting her biology textbook in her lap.

Katniss tried to half smile. "Hell, but at least we'll be able to pay the rent. My boss told me if I ever did that again he's going to fire me but I think i'm going to quit soon." Prim nodded, sensing that Katniss did not want to elaborate further. She then turned her attention back to the TV. "What shit T.V. show are you watching now?"

Prim rolled her eyes at her sister. "The Caesar Flickerman show. It's Friday night, which means the celebrity guest will be good." Katniss kicked off her shoes and tangled her feet with Prim's.

"I do not know how we are even related - when I was in college I spent every Friday drunk at a party. You'd rather study bio and watch bad television." Prim was about to respond, but was cut off by the music signaling the return of the show from commercial break.

Caesar Flickerman's face - which Katniss could swear did not look the same way it did last season - appeared on the screen, smiling bright. He opened his mouth, exposing his paper white teeth saying, "I'd love for you to give a warm welcome to my special guest of the evening, Peeta Mellark!"

Katniss froze in her place, feeling like all the blood drained out of her body at once. Prim noticed Katniss' expression, and scrambled to find the remote. "I can turn it off, it's probably a stupid interview anyway." Katniss stopped Prim.

"It's ok," she said while taking a deep breath. "I mean he's famous - I was going to encounter him some way or another."

Katniss observed Peeta's face intently as he spoke. His presence visibly riles up the audience; they are laughing, calling his name. He pokes fun of his various run-ins with paparazzi, comparing them to flies buzzing around your house that are impossible to kill. Peeta and Caesar have a natural rapport, each playing off the other's charm. Katniss finally feels the blood flow back to her body right as Caesar asks him about Madge. She gripped Prim's arm for support.

Peeta smiled sadly. "As you have probably seen all over TMZ, me and Madge are no longer together. She's a great girl and I know we'll be friends for a long time, but right now we are not right for each other."

Caesar squints, unhappy with the short response about his love life. "Well, being one of America's hottest actors, I'm sure you'll find another girl quickly." Peeta's eyes widened for a split second, but Caesar caught it. "Unless, you already have another girl?"

Peeta rubbed his neck the way he does when he's nervous. Katniss held her breath. "I mean, there is the one girl. I've got the biggest crush on her, but I goofed it up and I don't think she ever wants to speak to me again." Prim's grip on her sister tightened, and Katniss's jaw fell open.

"No he didn't..." Prim whispered under her breath.

"I doubt thats true Peeta, I don't think any girl could resist you!" The crow agreed with him, shouting out their sympathies.

"Well, believe it or not," his smile was wide, but his eyes were sad.

"If I were her, I don't think I would be able to refuse a public apology from Peeta Mellark. Any words?"

Peeta looked straight into the camera. "Katniss, I'm stupid. You've probably already figured that out, but I felt it necessary to say it on national television. I hope you can forgive me, and if you do I'll promise never to hurt you like that ever again. You'll probably hate me more for saying this on T.V., but I think it was the only way to get your attention. If you're seeing this, call me, please. I'm sorry."

The camera zoomed back on Caesar's face after Peeta finished. "Ladies and gentlemen, Peeta Mellark!"

* * *

and theres chapter 7! i'm so sorry, i can't believe it took me a month to come out with this update. this was mostly a filler-context chapter, the next one will most definitely be full of smut and fluff. questions? comments? concerns? all your reviews, favorites, follows are greatly appreciated.


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